Rain at the European Championships: Katwarn pushes heavy rain forecast to Saturday

Created: 2022-08-20 11:34 am

By: Gunter Klein

Bad weather outfit: Julia Sude.

© Imago/Eibner

The competitions of the European Championships take place despite the rain.

Indoor sports have an advantage in the weather in Munich.

Munich – Katwarn, the almost forgotten smartphone app, she reports.

On Thursday evening, after more than a week of uncompromising drought, the first downpour falls over the European Championships and the track and field program starts to falter.

"Official severe weather warning.

Heavy continuous rain from August 19, 2022, 6 a.m. to August 20, 2022, 8 a.m..” More specifically: “Amounts of precipitation between 50 and 80 liters/square meter are expected.” Will we all stand in the water, will Munich 2022 spoil us at the end?

Table tennis is fine - indoor sports, you just have to come to the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle with dry feet, there you are protected from all harm.

But even beach volleyball is critical.

The start on Center Court is at 10 a.m., the players in the second match get a full shower.

Katja Stam, from the Netherlands, laughs: "We have it every day at home." It's not a problem down in the sand, "you just do what you always do".

The grandstands are not covered, there is only a tarpaulin over the media seats.

She is freed from the water.

A torrent, people are frightened.

Germany is Jack Wolfskin country, it will be a stress test for the material.

Volunteers distribute raincoats, the stadium announcer jokes about people "in cling film", the music director plays "Raindrops keep falling on my head", La Ola is re-declared a "rain wave".

Self-mockery is a must.

Athletics has preliminary fights, she goes through her morning session.

The javelin throwers wobbled over their run-up.

The program is meticulously followed.

No Deutsche Bahn train runs as punctually when the weather is bad as a 4x100 m heat starts.

In Oberschleißheim the canoeists make their lanes.

The day before they assured us that rain, in whatever form, would not bother them.

And since there's no thunder or lightning, there's no danger either.

From 12 p.m. the rain dried up.

And the 100 percent precipitation certainty indicator shifts hour by hour.

Mountain biking, for which one had hoped for a mud slaughter like in the past in cross-country, where Klaus-Peter Thaler had to carry his bike on his shoulder, almost becomes a road ride.

The key point "Rock Garden" would only have been nasty if it was wet.

20 degrees, the sun is looking out - is she allowed to do that?

Just halfway through the race it starts to dribble, plastic bags are placed over the screens in the finish area.

Katwarn stuck to his heavy rain forecast, which was not confirmed in the evening.

The weather apps postponed the heavy rain to Saturday.

Should you believe it?