As of: April 5, 2024, 12:22 p.m
By: Romina Kunze
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Press
Split
At the end of the week, violent squalls hit parts of Germany and left devastation in their wake. Eyewitnesses report a “tornado”.
Kassel - People talk about the calm before the storm - when it comes to the weather of the past few days, it was the other way around. With a view to a summery April weekend with temperatures of up to 30 degrees, there was another heavy storm in many places. Rows of roofs were covered and other buildings were damaged, as several media reports. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), things could get unpleasant again on Friday (April 5th).
Tornado-like storm over Germany – weather outbreak hits Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia violently
A violent storm swept across parts of the republic on Thursday (April 4), especially in the west and south. Eyewitnesses report hurricane-like gusts to “short-lived tornadoes.” In Korschenbroich near Mönchengladbach, around 20 houses were damaged and one house roof was completely covered, as a spokesman for the Neuss police said on Friday morning. According to the
Rheinische Post
, a piece of the town hall facade was torn off by the storm. According to police, no one was injured.
The weather was also partly raging in Bavaria. The Upper Palatinate police spoke of a “wind storm” that passed through Berching in the Neumarkt district of Upper Palatinate. According to police reports, there was also damage to houses there. According to
information from
Focus
, emergency services had to be deployed up to 14 times. A carport was thrown 200 meters through the air.
“I have never experienced anything like this,” a resident told the Vifogra news agency. A bathtub that the man had stored in front of his house after renovation work was thrown “a few hundred meters” from a football field. Photos on social networks show parts of the devastation; The recordings have not been officially confirmed.
On Thursday (April 4th), sometimes violent squalls raged in Germany. There was damage to houses and streets, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, and in Cologne people battled strong wind and rain. (Photo collage) © Imago/dpa
Weather devastates parts of Germany: was it a tornado?
Neither the authorities nor the DWD could officially confirm that the violent storms were a tornado. To do this, weather experts would first have to evaluate images of the suspected tornado. The wind gusts reported from many places would suggest such a weather phenomenon, which, however, rarely occurs in Germany.
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This is a rotating column of air in contact with the ground, which leaves a strip of several hundred meters along its path in just a few minutes, according to the DWD website. “A tornado can occur when there are strong contrasts in temperature and air rises or is lifted,” explains the DWD.
Strong gusts of wind caused devastation on Thursday (April 4). In some parts of Germany, eyewitnesses reported a rush of wind that is common for tornadoes. (Symbolic photo) © IMAGO/H. Duty
Wind speeds of several hundred kilometers per hour can occur. However, such extreme differences in air quality are atypical in Central Europe. Recently, southern currents brought another weather phenomenon to Germany with Saharan dust and blood rain, which can occur more frequently in spring.
First storm and rain, then the approach of summer: the weather forecast for the weekend
There is no all-clear for Friday. There is currently an official weather warning level 2, especially for the north of Germany, while the DWD is currently issuing warning level 1 for the west and the Rhine-Main area. Stronger gusts may continue to occur here, and there may also be strong thunderstorms in the afternoon. There is currently no risk of storms in the east and south. The DWD predicts sunshine, especially for the south.
This should also be available in other parts of Germany at the weekend. In the north and northwest at 14 to 20 degrees. In the other regions of Germany, 19 to 25 degrees are expected - with the highest values in the Upper Rhine, where the storm recently raged violently. Here it can also be 30 degrees in summer.
(rku)