Highlight of the storms spoils European Championship round of 16
This summer remains faithful: After summery days, the sweltering heat gives way again to partly heavy thunderstorms. Coincidentally, around the kickoff of Germany's EM quarterfinal match against Denmark, it could get particularly hot.
While Football-Germany is heating up for the first EM quarterfinals, meteorologists are scrutinizing the weather maps for the upcoming weekend for Germany with Argus eyes. And one thing is certain: It doesn't look good. The situation could even be life-threatening, as the next weather low approaching us could be a category stronger than the previous thunderstorm systems.
We've gotten used to this in these days: Summer 2024 is running anything but smoothly. There are always sweltering heat, many lightning strikes, and heavy rain. On the other hand, Saturday is almost like a little summer fairy tale for many of us. Yes, individual, sometimes powerful thunderstorms will form. But for most of us, it will still be a beautiful day, with a lot of sun and possibly great expectations for the football evening, the barbecue, or whatever else. However: With all that we have planned, it's important to keep an eye on the weather this weekend. It could be not just exciting, but possibly even life-threatening.
While the day is developing quite nicely in many places, a disturbance in the southeastern half is causing an influx of hot and very humid air, which has plenty of energy stored up. This is reinforced by Tropical Depression "Annelie," which is now forming over Southwest Europe. And with this combination of explosive air and approaching low pressure, the thunderstorm danger increases rapidly. Unfortunately, it starts exactly at the time of Germany's national team match against Denmark (9 p.m. on ZDF and MagentaTV, as well as in the liveticker at ntv.de).
Thunderstorm and Lightning Plan
In the morning, there are only a few, sometimes powerful thunderstorms mainly around the mountain ranges. In the evening, around 7 or 8 p.m., thunderstorms will become more frequent in the southwest and west. The greatest thunderstorm danger initially exists from the Rhine River to the Eifel. The stadium of Julian Nagelsmann's team in Dortmund is also not entirely free of thunderstorms. In the course of the evening until approximately midnight, thunderstorms with heavy rain potential spread further into western Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and possibly even into the east. By morning at the latest, lightning and thunder will also reach the east.
Apart from the fan zones, festivalgoers and camping sites are particularly at risk this weekend. In addition to heavy and torrential rain with a risk of local flooding and full basements, damages from medium to large hailstones, storm gusts up to or over 120 km/h, and even individual tornados are not to be ruled out.
On Sunday, the unsettled weather will persist. Nationwide, we must reckon with heavy rain and powerful thunderstorms. Locally, up to 50-80 liters per square meter may accumulate within a short time, and amounts exceeding 100 liters are not entirely excluded. The largest rainfall amounts are expected in a band from Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen and NRW to eastern Lower Saxony up to the Lübecker Bucht. The low pressure system will have departed by Monday, and although it will be noticeably cooler, it will also be calmer.
Meteorologist Björn Alexander is expressing concerns about the extreme weather conditions approaching Germany, warning of a potential life-threatening situation due to a stronger weather low than previous thunderstorm systems. The international community is also keeping a close eye on these extreme weather events, recognizing them as a growing concern worldwide in the field of meteorology.
