Extreme weather: violent storms over France and Baden-Württemberg

2023-07-12 00:34:07

Extreme weather Heavy storms over France and Baden-Württemberg

An approaching thunderstorm front over Constance. photo

© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

Enormous heat, then violent storms: people in parts of France and Baden-Württemberg have to endure a lot. Saarland is also hit. Then the thunderstorms move on towards Bavaria.

Intense Storms first hit eastern France last night and then moved on to southwest Germany. In the Lake Constance region, extreme storms of the highest warning level 4 were warned around 11 p.m.

A police spokesman in Ravensburg said in the evening that the operational situation was not manageable because emergency calls were constantly being received. No injuries were initially reported. Many trees were snapped and roofs were taken off. A very severe thunderstorm was active, especially in Sigmaringen, Ravensburg and in the Lake Constance district.

“Things are really going well for us”

In the region around Reutlingen, too, the police and fire brigade had to go on numerous missions. “Things are really going well for us,” reported a police officer in Reutlingen in the evening. There are several traffic accidents with injuries due to the severe storm. Around 11 p.m., according to DWD information, the all-clear was largely given for Baden-Württemberg and the thunderstorms continued towards Bavaria.

In Saarland, the small town of Asweiler was hit particularly hard early in the evening. There a storm raged in an aisle of about 100 meters. Around 30 buildings were damaged. It was initially unclear whether it was a tornado. Nobody got hurt.

A large contingent of fire brigades, THW and police were on site. Saarland Minister of the Interior Reinhold Jost (SPD) announced that around 30 buildings had been damaged. Fortunately no people were injured. “The damage picture had raised fears of worse,” said the interior minister. The population was taken care of in the village community center.

Storm gusts of over 100 kilometers per hour

The storm had previously raged in France. The ceiling of a supermarket collapsed in Dijon and 30 trees were uprooted in Vichy. Residents from various places in the region shared photos of large hailstones falling with the gusts of wind, broadcaster BFMTV and newspaper Le Parisien reported. Initially, no one was harmed. Storm gusts with a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour were recorded in Dijon and Mulhouse. The French railways stopped traffic on some routes for safety reasons.

Experts had recommended keeping windows and doors closed during the storm, securing outdoor objects and keeping your distance from buildings, trees, scaffolding and high-voltage lines. People should stay as little as possible outdoors.

In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg it was the hottest in Germany before the storms. Meteorologist Ursula Papassimeon from the German Weather Service (DWD) said that the peak temperature was measured at 37.2 degrees in Möhrendorf-Kleinseebach (Bavaria). According to the DWD, the thermometer showed 37.0 degrees in Kitzingen (Bavaria) as well as in Lahr/Black Forest and Notzingen (both Baden-Württemberg).

dpa