Thunderstorms and heavy rain - Severe storms in Germany - train lines closed, flooding in Hamburg
Thunderstorms caused disruptions to fire departments and traffic in parts of Germany. The railway line between Bremen and Hamburg was closed on Thursday evening. Long-distance trains were rerouted without stopping over Hannover, according to the railway's announcement. The length of the closure of the track due to heavy rain at Tostedt in Lower Saxony is unclear.
Thunderstorm cell in North Rhine-Westphalia
A severe thunderstorm in Detmold, North Rhine-Westfalen, caused heavy rainfall according to city officials. Within a short time, up to 100 liters of rain per square meter had fallen. Above the northeastern part of the city, a thunderstorm cell unleashed its power, as stated in a message. For comparison: In North Rhine-Westfalen, there had been an average of 91 liters of rain per square meter in the entire month of April – that's around 50% more precipitation than in average years.
The Federal Road 239 was flooded for approximately two kilometers. The water had reached about 60 centimeters high on the bypass, a police spokesperson said in the evening. Currently, the fire department sees no possibility of pumping away the rainwater. "The water would immediately run back onto the streets from the fields," the police spokesperson said.
No one was harmed by the storm. Two accidents occurred in the heavy rain, but it was only property damage. The city of Detmold further reported that parts of the Old Town and especially the district of Klüt were particularly affected. The fire department was called to over 150 interventions. Numerous cellars had to be pumped out.
Thunderstorms in Thuringia – Lightning strike and flooding
Severe thunderstorms kept the fire department busy in parts of Thuringia on Thursday evening. The Federal Road 281 near Neuhaus had to be closed early in the evening due to flooding, as a spokeswoman of the crisis center in Erfurt said.
In Gerthausen in the southwest of Thuringia, the fire department was called in, according to the responsible rescue control center, to pump out cellars. Parts of the town were briefly under water due to heavy rain, as the creek Herpf swelled quickly. "The situation has already calmed down," it was reported in the evening. At noon, a lightning strike had hit a double house in Ilmenau (Ilm-Kreis) and caused significant damage.
Interventions in Hesse and Hamburg – Disruptions to long-distance traffic
The volunteer fire department in the Hessian district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg was called to over 200 interventions by early evening. Mostly it was about full cellars and flooded streets.
In Hannover, several parks were closed due to a thunderstorm warning. In Hamburg, there were numerous interventions due to heavy rain. Several gullies had overflowed and trees or branches had fallen on the streets, according to the police. Flooding occurred in the streets of the Hanseatic city.
A tree had fallen onto the S-Bahn tracks in Hamburg-Bergedorf, according to a spokeswoman of the German Railways. There, the long-distance traffic in the direction of Berlin was temporarily disrupted by a closure. This closure has been lifted again.
Multiple railway lines in Baden-Württemberg closed
In Baden-Württemberg, several railway lines were closed due to thunderstorms. The precise details were not immediately available.
In Baden-Württemberg, there are several railway tracks disrupted in various regions. DB Regio announced on Thursday evening on platform X that the section between Herbertingen (Sigmaringen district) and Aulendorf (Ravensburg district) is closed. In addition, a tree has fallen on the track in the northern part of the country between Crailsheim and Schwaebisch Hall-Hessental.
The S-Bahn Stuttgart announced in the evening that the track between Rohr and Boeblingen is currently only single-tracked due to a tree and branches in the track area. Furthermore, no train traffic on line S2 between Grunbach and Schorndorf is possible, it was stated further. The reason for this is a power line disruption.
The thunderstorm in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, led to tree and branch obstructions on the S-Bahn tracks. The route between Rohr and Boeblingen is currently operating as a single track due to this incident.
The disruptions in traffic and fire department operations extended to Tostedt in Lower Saxony, where heavy rain caused an uncertainty in the length of track closure.
The train route between Bremen and Hamburg faced closure on Thursday evening due to rain, and long-distance trains were diverted without stopping over Hanover.
The city of Detmold in North Rhine-Westphalia experienced a severe thunderstorm, leading to up to 100 liters of rain per square meter, claiming over 150 interventions by the fire department.
In Thuringia, thunderstorms flooded parts of the Federal Road 281 near Neuhaus and led to temporary water submersion in Gerthausen.
Rain in Hesse resulted in over 200 interventions by the volunteer fire department in the Hessian district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg.
Hamburg was not spared from the storm's wrath, with numerous interventions due to heavy rain and flooding in several streets.
Germany's Lower Saxony also faced the consequences of the thunderstorms, resulting in flooding on the Federal Road 239.
Storm and heavy rain led to a lightning strike in Illmenau, Thuringia, causing significant damage to a double house.
