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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

‘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.

'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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