Severe weather and thunderstorms occupied the police and fire brigade forces in parts of Bavaria on Saturday. In Franconia in particular, there were larger operations. In Lichtenfels in Upper Franconia, for example, the 66-year-old pilot of a small aircraft decided to return to the airfield after a short sightseeing flight on Saturday afternoon because of the onset of rain and wind.
On landing, the pilot lost control of the machine after a gust of wind caught it. The front wheel of the aircraft touched down hard on the grass runway, the landing gear buckled and the aircraft skidded on its nose until it came to a standstill. The pilot was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Damage to his machine was around 120,000 euros.
Also in Lichtenfels, a barn caught fire in the afternoon after a lightning strike. The emergency services could no longer save the building, according to the police, it burned down to the foundations. Hay, straw and items from house clearances were stored in the barn. The police estimate the damage at around 100,000 euros. According to the information, no one was injured.
In Leupoldsgrün in Upper Franconia (Hof district), a 24-year-old slipped his tractor and trailer on a rain-soaked road early in the evening and crashed into a traffic light and a light pole. Both the traffic light and the light pole buckled. The traffic light fell on the trailer, the light pole fell into an adjacent property and damaged the facade of a family home. According to the police, the damage amounts to 60,000 euros, so there were no injuries.
Lightning struck a residential building in the Lower Franconian district of Bad Kissingen, but according to the police there was no damage. In addition, the local police reported several operations because of downed trees. A car was also damaged due to a fallen construction fence.
The police headquarters in Central Franconia also reported around 20 operations on Sunday morning, including because of fallen trees and traffic signs. Due to the storm, several pedal boats broke loose on the Brombachsee, which drifted out onto the lake.
In the Swabian district of Donau-Ries, according to the police, a 23-year-old came off the road with his motorcycle in heavy rain and slipped into a field. According to the police, the man was unharmed in the accident on Saturday afternoon in Fünfstetten.
From Sunday afternoon until Monday night, the DWD reports again isolated, sometimes severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail and heavy gusts of wind. In the coming days, some strong thunderstorms and storms are to be expected in some areas.