Flooding is threatening Germany again this weekend. The German Weather Service is warning of this. Read everything you need to know in the weather ticker.
11.50 a.m.: Continuous rain, heavy rain, flooding: The German Weather Service believes that severe weather is possible, particularly in the south and southeast of the country. “The big bang will arrive at the weekend, exactly eleven years after the devastating floods in parts of Bavaria,” said meteorologist Marcel Schmid on Wednesday in Offenbach. But he also stressed: “We’re staying well below the amount we had back then.”
Nevertheless, according to the German Weather Service (DWD), from Friday to Sunday, roughly southeast of a line from Lake Constance to the Thuringian Forest and East Saxony, there could be widespread rainfall of 70 to 120, and locally around 150 litres per square metre. “Flooding and inundation are then inevitable,” explained Schmid. In Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, where there have recently been major floods, significantly less rainfall is expected.
However, the DWD also points to uncertainties in the forecasts. Specific warnings will be issued on Thursday evening or Friday morning at the latest. In 2013, the so-called flood of the century in Deggendorf and other parts of Bavaria caused property damage amounting to around 1.3 billion euros. Since then, flood protection has been greatly expanded.
On Thursday the sky will be partly cloudy and there may be repeated showers and thunderstorms, and locally heavy rain. Longer sunny periods are expected near the coast. It will be moderately warm with temperatures of 16 to 20 degrees, up to 22 degrees in the east. A light to moderate wind will blow from various directions.
According to the forecasts, the potential storm situation will start on Friday in the south and southeast with heavy, persistent rain. In other parts of the country, showers are expected, with isolated thunderstorms. There is most likely to be some sunshine in the northwest. Maximum temperatures will be between 18 and 24 degrees, with persistent rain only reaching 11 to 16 degrees.
For Saturday, the DWD is predicting persistent rain from Lake Constance to Lusatia. In other parts of the country, there may be isolated showers or short thunderstorms with a mix of sun and clouds. Longer sunny periods are expected in some areas in the west and northwest.
7:42 a.m.: Thunderstorms and rain will accompany people in North Rhine-Westphalia through the rest of the week – and will not let up on the holiday either. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), Wednesday will be grey and wet, with isolated thunderstorms and local heavy rain from the afternoon onwards. Stormy gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour are also possible. According to the forecast, maximum temperatures will remain stable until Saturday and will be between 17 and 20 degrees.
Things will be similarly unfriendly on Corpus Christi: According to the DWD, showers and thunderstorms will occur again during the course of Thursday. Meteorologists are expecting strong to stormy gusts and heavy rain in some places. Showers, isolated thunderstorms and sometimes heavy rain will also be expected on Friday.
The forecast for Saturday offers a small ray of hope: According to the DWD, the weekend will begin cloudy to very cloudy, but rain will only fall rarely and in isolated places. Otherwise, it will remain dry across the board.
Wednesday, May 29, 7:25 a.m.: After an initially dry start to Wednesday, people in Bavaria must prepare for rain in many places. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), rain is approaching in Franconia and northern Swabia, with a slight risk of thunderstorms during the day.
In other parts of Bavaria, too, increasingly dense clouds are gathering and rain is gradually spreading towards the afternoon. In the southeast, however, the DWD says it will initially be partly sunny and will remain dry until the early evening. According to meteorologists, maximum temperatures will range from 15 to 22 degrees.
Rain is expected to be widespread overnight into Thursday, with showers in some areas. The DWD is not ruling out isolated thunderstorms in the northwestern half of Bavaria.
4:11 p.m.: The German Weather Service is warning of heavy rain and the risk of flooding over the weekend. As early as Thursday and Friday, there could be changeable showers in some places with isolated thunderstorms and local heavy rain. “But that’s nothing, there’s a lot more rain to come!”, announced DWD meteorologist Adrian Leyser on Tuesday in Offenbach.
The Orinoco low pressure system will settle over Central Europe over the weekend and bring heavy rain. It is still unclear which regions will be affected by the heaviest rainfall: “Taking due account of the forecast uncertainties, the focus seems to be on the southern, eastern and central parts of the country. That is where the models are currently simulating the most rain,” explained the expert.
And how much rain are meteorologists expecting? “By Monday, 40 to 60 litres per square metre could well have fallen in many places. In some areas, however, significantly higher amounts of between 60 and 100 litres per square metre are possible, with extreme calculations even predicting peaks of around 150 litres per square metre,” said Leyser. By comparison: “In many regions, this corresponds to around one to two times the monthly rainfall for May within two days.”
This means that there is a risk of flooding on some rivers. This is because: “These masses of water enter the streams and rivers and cause the water levels to rise sharply.”
On Wednesday it will remain mostly dry and initially sunny only in the far east and southeast. Otherwise, precipitation is expected to spread further eastwards, which may increasingly turn into showers and thunderstorms in the west and northwest. Maximum temperatures will be between 18 and 24 degrees.
Thursday will start with rain in the east and southeast, moving eastwards. Otherwise, showers and thunderstorms are expected with variable to heavy cloud cover, and local heavy rain is possible according to the forecast. Maximum temperatures will only reach 17 to 22 degrees.
On Friday, prolonged rain is forecast for the south. In the rest of the country, the DWD is expecting changeable showers and isolated thunderstorms. Maximum temperatures will be between 18 and 24 degrees, with around 15 degrees in persistent rain.
And what will happen next week? “It is only at the beginning of next week that we will see a hesitant calming of the weather from the northwest,” said Leyser. However, consistent and dry early summer weather is still not in sight.
6.29 a.m.: After the heavy thunderstorms and rainfall of the past few days, the weather in Germany will calm down temporarily on Tuesday. However, showery rain and isolated thunderstorms are still possible from the Baltic Sea to the eastern low mountain ranges until the morning, as the German Weather Service (DWD) announced this morning. During the course of the morning, the thunderstorms and showers in the east and southeast of Germany will then move northeast, according to the DWD. Otherwise, it will remain partly cloudy and often dry. Isolated showers and thunderstorms may also occur in the north. In the west and northwest, it will be cloudy in the afternoon, and in the evening there may be rain from the west.
The highest temperatures on Tuesday will be between 16 and 22 degrees. During the night into Wednesday, prolonged rainfall will spread from the west and northwest to the center, as the DWD predicted. In the east and southeast it will remain dry with some clearing up.
You can read more about the current weather conditions on the next pages.
