Supposed tornado is sweeping over North Sea island Borkum
Weather Spectacle on Borkum: A suspected tornado sweeps over the North Sea island, causing chaos on the promenade. No injuries reported, according to police.
A suspected tornado caused minor devastation on the beach of the North Sea island Borkum on Thursday. The storm came from the sea, passing over a section of the west beach and onto the promenade, as seen in internet videos. Police reported no injuries. The German Weather Service is still investigating whether it was indeed a tornado.
Fisherman Rolf Groenewold from Greetsiel was out at sea 500 meters west of Borkum in the morning. "Suddenly my son said 'Look, a tornado'", he reported. "There was a rustling from the clouds that kept getting bigger, and you could see it whipping up water." For over half an hour, two more tornadoes formed. "I've never seen anything like it at sea," said the fisherman from Greetsiel.
Videos showed a suspected whirlwind tossing a beach chair around, narrowly missing several people on the beach. On the promenade, chairs were also thrown about. The weather website Tornadoliste.de classified the storm as a tornado. According to their reports, there was at least one more suspected tornado, but it did not reach the island.
Tornados form due to large temperature differences and often occur with thunderstorms in Central Europe. According to experts, a tornado only forms under certain conditions. Important factors include large clouds, thunderstorms, and different wind directions at different heights. In this context, a rotating movement forms in the actual cloud, which grows downwards and looks like a "rustling."
Meteorologists rarely use the term "wind hose" (wind tube) used in everyday language, as they believe it trivializes the often severe weather phenomenon. Tornados can reach wind speeds of several hundred kilometers per hour at their most extreme. Due to their often sudden formation, they cannot be predicted. In European latitudes, the phenomenon usually dissipates after a few minutes.
The European Union expresses concern over the increasing number of weather-related natural disasters in Europe, such as the recent suspected tornado on Borkum. The European Meteorological Agency is collaborating with the European Union to develop more accurate weather forecasting systems and mitigation strategies for extreme weather events.
In light of the recent storm on Borkum, the European Union has proposed additional funding for coastal cities and islands to strengthen their infrastructure and prepare for future extreme weather events.
