Violent thunderstorms and storm damage: emergency services at their limit!

Violent thunderstorms and storm damage: emergency services at their limit!

Last Sunday, violent thunderstorms raged across large parts of Germany, especially in central Germany. In North Rhine-Westphalia in particular, the emergency services were particularly challenged at night as they had to be deployed due to severe thunderstorms. MDR reports impressive rainfall that reached over 40 liters per square meter in Saxony and Thuringia. Gusts of up to 85 km/h were not uncommon, and hailstones of around two centimeters caused a stir in the Erzgebirge.

In Vogtlandkreis, Saxony, emergency services had to report numerous damages, including fallen trees that hit a car in Auerbach, while a collapsed chimney in Treuen damaged several vehicles. In Aue, an even more impressive rainfall caused a whopping 72 liters per square meter within just 12 hours, including 60 liters in a single hour. The reports are similar in this, because there was largely no heavy rainfall in the Saxony-Anhalt area either. Nevertheless, the threat of severe weather remained in the east and southeast until Monday night Daily Mirror held on.

Critical situations in Paderborn

The situation was particularly tense in Paderborn. Service providers had to work continuously because the basement was full, but fortunately there were no injuries. The fact that there is another way was shown in a serious incident when the roof of a production hall partially collapsed and water entered the local hospital. The storms also left their mark on the university campus. Even in retrospect, reports emerged of a possible tornado in Altenbeken in the Paderborn district, which are currently being checked by the German Weather Service (DWD).

Despite the severe weather warnings that the DWD had issued for the south and east, the Chemnitz “Kosmos” festival was canceled prematurely due to the poor weather forecast. With all of these dramatic weather conditions, the question arises as to whether we need to be prepared for even more violent storms as a result of global warming.

A look at climate developments

The DWD explains that extreme weather events change not only in frequency but also in their effects. There is a clear increase in heat waves and a notable decrease in severe frosts in Germany. Such developments are no coincidence, they are the result of global warming, with higher temperatures being observed in recent years. DWD believes that the likelihood of new temperature records will continue to increase in the future. This also inevitably has an impact on the intensity of precipitation.

The dramatic weather situation last Sunday is therefore not isolated, but rather part of a larger trend that we must observe in connection with climate change. If global temperatures continue to rise and extreme weather phenomena increase, we will probably have to prepare for such events more frequently in the future.