Firefighters were furthermore called out on over 80 occasions, mostly for flooded cellars, according to the Frankfurter Neue Presse.

Severe lightning strikes hit Hattersheim, with train traffic completely brought to a halt as a result. In Höchst, trains came to a complete stop after lightning hit a signal box.

By 5 pm, many S-Bahn lines had stopped running or were delayed due to operational issues with a train track at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Passengers were urged to rely on U-Bahn lines rather than the S-Bahn or street trams.

But the extreme weather has not stopped athletes. The JP Morgen Race, which takes place at 7 pm in the city centre, is still taking place, according to organizers.

While the German Weather Service issued a maximum warning of 4, or extreme thunderstorms, at noon, it said that the storms would slowly decrease into the night.