Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

WEATHER

Heavy rain hits Bavaria and Lower Saxony

Violent storms have flooded swathes of Lower Saxony and Bavaria, filling streets and basements with water and leaving authorities struggling to cope.

Published: 30 June 2011 16:03 CEST

Heavy rain hits Bavaria and Lower Saxony

Photo: DPA

Southern Bavaria around Munich was particularly hard hit, with police and fire fighters being called out more than 170 times to deal with flooded cellars and garages. Nobody was injured, despite the chaos.

Water washed away roads and sidewalks throughout the region, sending local officials scrambling to respond.

“The storm is the worst in recent years,” said Friedhelm Liwack, from Auetal, in Lower Saxony.

By Thursday afternoon, the situation had calmed, though there was a considerable mess to clean up.

Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.

At one Munich shopping centre, water was one metre deep in places. Twenty shops remained closed. Authorities pumped water from a city centre hotel and the city museum. The chaos caused traffic jams on water-filled roads.

The storm started about 5 am with thunder and lightning. At times, 52 litres of rain fell per square metre each hour, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

The DWD predicted that the worst of the storms was over, though it predicted cool and soggy weather throughout Germany for the rest of the week. Thunderstorms are expected to break out from time to time.

DPA/The Local/mdm

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Severe weather warnings issued as Germany braces for more storms

Severe weather is expected in the southwest of the country on Friday, with the heaviest rain expected in Saarbrücken, as well as the surrounding areas of Saarland and southern Rhineland-Palatinate.

In these areas Germany’s weather service (DWD) has level 4 warnings in place – meaning that the rain is expected to be extremely heavy (more than 40 litres per square metre in an hour, or 60 litres per square metre in 6 hours).

Slightly less severe, but still heavy continuous rain can also be expected in the surrounding regions, extending as far as Stuttgart and Mainz.

Speaking to Bild newspaper, Climatologist Dr. Karsten Brandt suggested that the heavy precipitation and thunderstorms will continue to move northwest, even into southern North-Rhine Westphalia (Aachen).

There are also wind warnings in parts of the country, with squalls expected on the Brocken and the Fichtelberg mountains, as well as in the Black Forest and in the Alps.

Currently, the highest wind warnings are in Dresden and southern Bavaria near the Alps.

Friday’s weather warnings come in the wake of chaotic weather that flooded Nuremberg and parts of Bavaria Thursday night, where many roads flooded. Cars were submerged in water and bus routes were cancelled.

A number of household cellars also flooded as well as a large underground car park at the Technical University.

READ ALSO: Record heat deaths and floods – How Germany is being hit by climate change

What will the weekend bring?

Beyond the area of severe weather warnings but not beyond the reach of the storm, Cologne will have some rain on Friday which may continue on through the weekend.

Germany’s northern and eastern regions have dodged the recent bout of storms so far, but in Berlin scattered thunderstorms can be expected to move in by Sunday afternoon. This may put a dampener on the Karneval der Kulturen parade.

In Bremen and Hamburg, residents can expect some rain showers on Sunday and Monday, with a chance of thunderstorms as well.

In Munich and Nuremberg, it looks as if the worst is over. Some small showers may continue into Saturday, but Bavarian residents can look forward to a sunny Sunday ahead of the public holiday on Monday for Pentecost.

READ ALSO:

Url copied to clipboard!