"Zoltan" gets stronger - Storm surges expected - First gale-force gusts
The wind is getting stronger. At the first measuring points, wind peaks of well over 130 kilometers per hour are measured. People on the Elbe, Weser and North Sea have to prepare for flooding. But it is also getting stormy and rainy in the rest of the country - and will remain so for the time being.
Low pressure system "Zoltan" is building up over Germany and gaining strength almost by the hour. At midday, wind speeds of 140 kilometers per hour were already measured on Spiekeroog. On the Brocken in the Harz Mountains, it stormed at up to 137 km/h. And the peak of Zoltan is yet to come. Storm surges are expected on the North Sea coasts and the rivers there. "We are now seeing a tendency towards a severe storm surge on Thursday evening," said Jennifer Brauch from the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). The German Weather Service has issued severe weather warnings for several regions.
In view of the weather situation, some ferry trips have already been canceled - especially to the North Sea islands. More will be canceled in the coming days. Around 200 flights are being canceled today at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, and travelers must also be prepared for delays. In North Rhine-Westphalia , some Christmas markets closed as a precaution. The Harz narrow-gauge railroads suspended train services to the Brocken due to the stormy weather. Traffic between Schierke and the Brocken summit was suspended, according to an HSB spokesperson. In Bremerhaven, the authorities suspended school operations, according to NDR. The Christmas markets in the city and in Bremen remain closed.
In Thuringia, the zoo and Egapark in the state capital remain closed, according to MDR. Gera and Rudolstadt close their cemeteries out of fear of falling branches. The suspension railroad on the Fichtelberg in Saxony has ceased operation. Chemnitz warns against entering public parks. According to MDR, the Schwarzenberg town council has removed the Christmas tree from the market square. In Mecklenburg--Western Pomerania , there will be no ferry service to the island of Hiddensee tomorrow, Friday. The Wittow ferry on Rügen has already been suspended.
The water levels on the Elbe and Weser could reach the storm surge mark of 1.5 meters above mean high water in the evening, according to the BSH. According to the police, the high water peak in Hamburg is expected to be between 4.12 and 4.62 meters above sea level at around 11.25 pm at the St. Pauli gauge - this corresponds to 2.00 to 2.50 meters above mean high water. The police warned against staying in low-lying areas around the Elbe. This applies in particular to the port, Hafencity and areas close to the Elbe.
In the morning, low pressure system "Zoltan", internationally known as "Pia", moved from the North Atlantic and the North Sea to Germany with its fronts and main storm field. As a result, squalls will continue to increase during the course of the day, as ntv meteorologist Björn Alexander explained. In the evening and during the night, the cold front will follow with a surge of cold polar air. As the cold front passes through, the strongest gusts of wind are threatening for the time being with the peak of "Zoltan".
There will also be considerable winds in the center of the country: heavy gusts of around 100 km/h are possible down to the lowlands, while gusts of up to 150 km/h are possible on the mountains. This is particularly true in the Upper Harz. At the same time, the storm's center of gravity will also reach the Baltic Sea, where gale-force gusts of up to 130 km/h are also expected. The wind will also become increasingly rough to gale-force in the south with gusts of up to 90 km/h.
The maximum temperatures today will reach a less Christmassy 5 degrees in the Oberallgäu to 11 degrees on the Lower Rhine, as ntv meteorologist Stefanie Scharping explained. Meteorologists are predicting heavy snowfall in the higher elevations of the Bavarian Forest. On Friday night, lows are expected to range from 8 degrees in Breisgau to 0 degrees in the Ore Mountains, with frost expected in some high-altitude areas.
Tomorrow, Friday, the North Sea is threatened by a severe storm surge after the first storm surge during the night. The BSH has also predicted severe storm surges for the Elbe, Weser and Ems in northern Germany in the morning. Water levels in the rivers are expected to rise to more than 2.5 meters above mean high water between 8 am and 12 noon.
A storm tide is expected on the Baltic Sea, which may also affect ferry traffic. The situation will calm down in the west in particular. Otherwise, it will remain stormy with gale-force winds of over 120 km/h in the mountains and on the Baltic Sea, before the wind is likely to pick up again in the west and south in the evening and on Saturday night.
The final peak of the storm for the time being will be in the south on Saturday, where gusts of 80 to 100 km/h are once again expected - gusts of up to 150 km/h are possible on the mountains. The Christmas period will then remain changeable and windy to stormy in places. However, the strongest gusts threaten up to and including Saturday.
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The storm surge warnings issued by the German Weather Service are particularly concerning for the North Sea coasts, where bad weather conditions could lead to severe flooding. Due to the approaching storm, international shipping routes in the North Sea are expected to be impacted by high waves and strong winds.
Source: www.ntv.de
