The body of a fireman was found by a creek on Monday in Rustenfelde Thuringia after heavy rainfall, local police said.

It has still not been confirmed how the man died, though it appeared he may have drowned.

Another storm over the weekend saw lightning strikes on a football field injure 26 players and spectators on Sunday, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The football game in Bräunsdorf, Saxony, had to be halted as the wounded were taken to hospital for treatment.

The German Weather Service (DWD) said on Sunday that much of the country will continue to experience rain throughout the week before things heat up again for the weekend.

Rain showers are expected across the country this week, sweeping from the northeast to the southwest, the DWD said.

Southern Germany will continue to experience showers and thunderstorms until nearly the end of the week, but with the rain will also come cooler temperatures – a relief for the area that has seen mercury rising above 40C in recent weeks.

Storms in the north will usher in comparatively warmer weather.

Areas in the center of the country will experience particularly heavy downpours, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, northern Hesse and southeast Lower Saxony.

While the rain is expected to peter out by Wednesday in the north, the south is predicted to still experience storms into Thursday, though most of the rest of the country will be sunny.

But by the weekend, most of Germany should once again see higher, warmer temperatures.