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POLICE

Storms chaos hits North Rhine-Westphalia

Violent storms felled trees and flooded roads and basements throughout North Rhine-Westphalia, leaving emergency responders struggling to make it to all the calls for service.

Storms chaos hits North Rhine-Westphalia
Photo: DPA

In the town of Voerde near Duisburg, a tree struck by lightning caught fire and crashed into a house, causing at least €100,000 of damage. In Bottrop, an empty barn was hit by lightning and burned to the ground.

Although no injuries were reported, police and fire departments in Dortmund, Essen and Bochum were called out more than 300 times on Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.

At Düsseldorf’s airport, there were multiple weather-related delays of over an hour while six incoming planes had to be diverted to airports in Frankfurt and Cologne.

Sections of motorways between Aachen and Wuppertal as well as Essen and Düsseldorf were closed temporarily due to flooding.

Meteorologists said at least 6,000 bolts of lightening had been recorded overnight, with one expert speaking of “really severe thunderstorms.”

Things seem largely to have blown over by late in the morning Friday. The storms had mostly dissipated although rain showers remained.

The forecast for the rest of day was for scattered showers with clearing in the evening.

Partly sunny weather with brief smatterings of rain was expected for the entire country over most of the weekend, with a possibility of cloud by Sunday afternoon.

Some thunderstorms, however, will return to the NRW by Tuesday, while much of southern Germany will experience rain showers.

DPA/DAPD/The Local/mdm

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WEATHER

Spring to arrive in Germany with temperatures of up to 21C

The moment many people around Germany have been waiting for is almost here: as of Thursday, temperatures are expected to crack the 20C mark and stay warm through the start of spring.

Spring to arrive in Germany with temperatures of up to 21C

Whether it’s the pink cherry blossom trees which have started to bloom, lighter evenings or people walking around with ice cream cones, the signs of springs have already started to show around Germany in March.

Now the weather is also catching up: following rain storms on Wednesday, the mercury is expected to reach at least 20C in many parts of the Bundesrepublik on Thursday. 

READ ALSO: Seven signs that Spring has arrived in Germany

First there’s some damper news: On Wednesday, Germany – in particular the southwest – is expected to be hit by the storms. In the Black Forest, 30 to 40 litres per square metre will fall by midday, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

In the Alps, light snowfall will set in above 1,000 to 1,200 metres, with fresh snowfall of around five centimetres expected. 

The rain will ease by the following morning, but it will remain cloudy.

Up to 21C on Thursday

On Thursday, after the morning the fog disappears, people can look forward to a sunny and dry day – especially in the south and western parts of Germany. 

Temperatures will rise to a pleasant 14 to 21C degrees, with the highest values on the Upper Rhine. 

In mountainous areas and by the sea, it will remain somewhat cooler at 10C to 14C. 

Friday will be characterised by changeable weather: there will be sunny spells as well as rain showers, which will spread from the west and may be heavy in places – including thunderstorms. 

Temperatures will be between 14C and 18C degrees, and in the Lausitz region in eastern Germany it could even reach a warm 20 degrees.

Warmer weeks

While this Sunday could still see some single digit temperatures in northern parts of Germany – such as 9C in Berlin and Hamburg – the coming week is set to experience continually warmer weather, remaining at 14C and higher. 

The first day of spring officially begins this year with the Spring Equinox on March 19th. The days will become even lighter in Germany after Daylight Savings Time, which this year takes place in the early hours of Easter Sunday, or March 31st.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in March 2024

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