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WEATHER

Bad weather kills two on Autobahn, with hurricane-force winds predicted in north Germany

A series of crashes in western Germany were caused by a dramatic change in weather confusing drivers. In one of the pile ups, two people died.

Published: 13 September 2017 09:38 CEST
Bad weather kills two on Autobahn, with hurricane-force winds predicted in north Germany
The aftermath of the crash outside Münster on Tuesday. Photo: DPA

On the Autobahn 2 outside Münster police reported a series of crashes on Tuesday evening, as heavy rain was followed in quick succession by blinding sunlight.

Several cars braked heavily as torrential rain began to fall, “but then the sun suddenly came back out and the drivers couldn’t see anymore,” a police spokesperson said.

In the worst incident, which took place at 5.25pm, some 14 cars collided with one another, leaving two people dead and 14 injured, three of them seriously. Police also said that the pile up left debris strewn over a 100 metre area.

At almost exactly the same time another multi-vehicle crash took place two kilometres further down the road, involving 26 cars and two trucks. A total of 10 people were injured, three of them seriously.

Due to the large amount of wrecked cars left on the asphalt, police closed the motorway down completely for ten hours, reopening it at 4am on Wednesday.

The German Weather Service (DWD) has released a weather warning for almost the entire country on Wednesday, with the north-west set for a day of heavy rain and storms.

Hamburg and Schleswig Holstein will be battered by hurricane-like winds during the day. While in Schleswig-Holstein the winds will reach hurricane force. On mountain peaks across the country the wind will also be hurricane force.

Gales and heavy rain are set to spread east at a rapid pace on Wednesday morning, with Berlin also set to get a good soaking.

Only south east Bavaria is allowed to sip at the last dregs of summer, with sun and temperatures of 22 C predicted there for the morning.

WEATHER

‘Turbo spring’: Germany to see temperatures above 25C

Germany is set for a blast of warm weather in the coming week as the colder spell eases off.

Published: 26 April 2024 16:56 CEST
'Turbo spring': Germany to see temperatures above 25C

“The late winter weather of the past few days with frost and snow is a thing of the past for the time being, and spring will kick into turbo gear over the next few days,” said meteorologist Adrian Leyser from the German Weather Service (DWD) on Friday.

Temperatures are expected to rise sharply over the weekend with plenty of sunshine, forecasters said. In Germany anything above 25C is classed as a summer day. “The summer mark of 25C will be cracked regionally as early as Sunday,” said Leyser.

It comes as snow and hail hit Germany last week, and temperatures fell below freezing in some places.

But showers and thunderstorms are still possible in the west and north of Germany. Maximum temperatures there are expected to reach around 20C. 

According to the DWD, spring will get a little damper on Monday, with a few rain spells.  “However, the next low pressure system over Western Europe is preparing to turn on the warm air jet again from Tuesday,” said the meteorologist.

On Wednesday – which is a public holiday across Germany for International Workers’ Day – temperatures could soar nearer 30C. 

“In the south and east, we are even approaching the 30C mark,” said Leyser. However, the weather will remain “susceptible to disruption”, said Leyser, especially in the west where there is a risk of isolated and sometimes severe thunderstorms.

READ ALSO: What to do on May 1st in Germany

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