- Almost 100,000 lightning strikes in North Rhine-Westphalia - record lightning in Minden-Lübbecke
Over North Rhine-Westphalia, nearly 97,400 lightning strikes have been counted this year. This was announced by the Munich-based lightning tracking company Nowcast. In the Minden-Lübbecke district, the strongest lightning strike in Germany on Wednesday of this week was recorded, with a strength of 235 kiloamperes. On average, a lightning strike has about 15 kiloamperes, according to a spokesperson.
All lightning strikes are included in the count, both those that hit the ground and those that do not. Nowcast has been collecting nationwide lightning data since 2006 using 30 sensors, including for the German Weather Service (DWD). According to the experts, around 100,000 lightning strikes in NRW is a rather below-average value.
"From Baden-Württemberg via NRW to Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, there have been significantly fewer lightning strikes than usual," the report stated. According to the report, Bavaria is currently the leader in the number of lightning strikes this year, with 260,512.
Despite the significant number of lightning strikes in Bavaria, the Lightning strikes in North Rhine-Westphalia remain lower than average, with approximately 100,000 strikes this year. Witnessing a powerful display of Lightning, some areas even reported voracious strikes, such as the one recorded in Minden-Lübbecke district with an impressive 235 kiloamperes.
