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WEATHER

Northern Germany hit by severe winds and storms

Severe winds wreaked havoc across the north of Germany during the night and one man died after a tree fell onto his car.

Published: 2 December 2021 10:06 CET
A fallen tree on parked cars in Hamburg.
A fallen tree on parked cars in Hamburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jonas Walzberg

Emergency services were called out several times during the stormy weather on Wednesday night, and the early hours of Thursday. 

On the B4 near Wesendorf in Lower Saxony, an uprooted tree crashed into a 63-year-old man’s car on Wednesday evening.

The man died at the scene of the accident. His 35-year-old son, who was also in the car, suffered minor injuries.

The storm caused almost 40 incidents in the state, particularly in and around Oldenburg. There was also a lot of property damage.

Elsewhere, Hamburg fire and rescue teams said they recorded 36 storm incidents by early evening, ranging from fallen branches to flying objects and toppled scaffolding.

They said no-one was reported to be injured. There was some flooding, including at Hamburg Fish Market, but no major incidents. 

READ ALSO: Germany sees heavy snowfall as winter blizzard strikes

In Schleswig-Holstein, gale-force winds caused trees to fall on roads fences to fall, a spokesperson said early Thursday morning. There were no injuries.

In the south of the state alone, emergency services had to be called out almost 180 times, the spokesperson for the control centre said. On the A1 between Bad Oldesloe (Stormarn district) and the Bargteheide motorway junction, vehicles had to be recovered on Thursday morning after a lorry accident. Due to the strong winds, it was not possible on Wednesday evening. 

Similar incidents also took place in Brandenburg. Storm gusts overnight led to several fire and police operations in the state that surrounds Berlin.

According to a spokesperson for the call centre in Potsdam, an articulated lorry and two cars crashed into a tree lying on the road on the A24. No one was injured.

Covid-19 test tents were also damaged by the wind.

Vocabulary

Accident – (der) Unfall

Heavy gusts/winds – (die) Schwere Sturmböen

Overturned/uprooted trees – (die) umgestürzte Bäume

Police operation – (der) Polizeieinsatz

We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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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.

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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