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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: Giant hailstones hit Munich as storms continue across Germany

Hailstones as big as tennis balls hammered the Munich area on Monday as a series of thunderstorms lashed parts of Germany.

IN PICTURES: Giant hailstones hit Munich as storms continue across Germany
The hail caused damage to shop fronts, buildings and cars in Munich and the surrounding area. Photo: DPA

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Several people were injured, including a seven-year-old, during a hailstorm in the southern German state of Bavaria on Monday.

Houses and cars were damaged by the hail, which meteorologists said were about six centimetres in size. Locals took to social networking sites to post videos and pictures of the extreme weather.

It came during a day of torrential rain and storms across Germany which caused flooding and disruption during the public holiday.

WATCH: Tornado rips through western German city

A house damaged by the hailstones in Germering, on the outskirts of Munich. Photo: DPA

Locals spoke of their shock at the extreme weather. Roberto De Angelis told broadcaster BR24: “I've never experienced anything like it before.”

In Bavaria, winds of up to 120km/h were recorded, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

Several car windows were broken by the hailstones. Meanwhile, houses were submerged in water as torrential rain fell.

Emergency teams were called out on 550 operations in Munich alone, DPA reported.

According to rail operator Deutsche Bahn, fallen trees on the tracks between Landshut and Munich caused restrictions to rail traffic, however, trains were able to detour.

There were some delays in freight traffic between Berlin and Dresden.

Eastern Germany also hit by storms

The east German state of Saxony was also severely affected by the storms. In the south of the region, 30 to 50 litres of rain fell per hour, the DWD said. The weather service also registered hailstones with a diameter of up to four centimetres.

Lightning in Dresden, Saxony. Photo: DPA

The police reported several flooded streets in the Erzgebirgskreis. The responsible police department in Chemnitz reported that these roads were not passable.

The DWD said the situation was better in parts of northern Germany. In the districts of Oldenburg and Bremen, however, there was also heavy rain.

In North Rhine-Westphalia it was rather quiet compared to the east and south. But in Mönchengladbach there was localized flooding; streets overflowed with water and cellars were flooded due to the rain.

Meanwhile, a large forest fire on a former military training area near Jüterbog in Brandenburg was extinguished.  Task forces had been fighting the fire for several days.

Lightning over Berlin. Photo: DPA

More storms expected

According to the DWD, there could be more thunderstorms on Tuesday, especially in a strip from the eastern edge of the Alps to the Baltic Sea.

The large nationwide differences in temperature remain: temperatures in the southeast and east are expected to be between 25 and 32C, while in the central part and north of Germany it should be noticeably cooler at 21 to 25C. In the west and southwest, the mercury is expected to reach just 16 to 20C.

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WEATHER

Germany hit by storms and high winds

After a night of thunderstorms and high winds that knocked down trees and delayed trains, wind warnings are still in place in much of Germany on Tuesday. The coming days are expected to bring cool temperatures and scattered showers.

Germany hit by storms and high winds

The German Weather Service (DWD) is maintaining wind warnings across much of Germany on Tuesday following severe wind and rain storms that started Monday night.

Wind speeds are most intense in the south. Around Munich, the DWD predicts wind speeds around 65 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour can be expected in exposed locations, along with showers.

In the middle of the country the weather is similar with slightly less intense winds predicted. In Düsseldorf, winds up to around 55 kilometres per hour are predicted.

In the northern regions, no serious weather warnings are in effect.

Showers are also expected across much of the southern, western and northern regions in Germany on Tuesday. In the middle and eastern regions, such as around Erfurt or Dresden, skies are partly cloudy.

In the Upper Harz region, snow fell on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Unusually cold weather is expected to continue there through the weekend.

Looking forward, scattered showers will continue on Wednesday, but the sun can be expected to peek through across much of the country. Northern and eastern cities like Berlin and Hamburg can expect a bit more sun tomorrow, whereas cities in the south can expect a bit more rain.

A mix of sun and scattered showers can be expected to extend through Friday and Saturday, with high temperatures around 12C each day and low temperatures between 2C and 5C at night.

House with wrecked roof

The flat roof of an apartment building in Hesse was damaged by severe winds on Monday night. PHOTO: picture alliance/dpa/5VISION.NEWS | 5VISION.NEWS

Severe storms left trail of destruction

Thunderstorms, strong winds and widespread storms on Monday evening left carnage across Germany. 

Some train passengers experienced delays of four hours on while a number of routes were closed.

On Tuesday morning there are only major delays between Nuremberg and Erfurt, a railway spokesman said.

Tees and branches knocked down by severe gusts of wind caused a series of injuries and traffic disruption.

In Hesse, a motorist and her passenger were injured in a collision with a tree that had fallen due to the storm.The accident occurred on Monday evening in the city of Alsfeld. Both occupants of the car were slightly injured, the 20-year-old was taken to a hospital.

In Bottrop (North Rhine-Westphalia), a 19-year-old pedestrian was injured on her way home from work after a tree suddenly fell onto the sidewalk. The young woman’s legs were trapped under the tree trunk, according to the fire department. In Hattingen in the Ruhr area, a man was injured by a tree falling into a garden.

In Cologne, a city bus was damaged by a fallen tree. The driver was slightly injured and taken to hospital, the fire department said in the evening. Several fallen trees and bent branches hindered traffic in the city.

In Bavaria, three people in a car suffered serious injuries in an accident on the A9.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Koblenz police headquarters reported 10 cars in its region that had been damaged by falling trees or other objects. Electricity and telephone lines were also damaged by falling trees. In Ludwigshafen in the Palatinate, trees fell on roads and power lines. Loose roof tiles and fallen construction fences also triggered fire brigade operations.

With reporting by DPA

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