Zoo closed, warning of park visits
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Hurricane-like gusts approach Berlin and Brandenburg
A severe autumn storm with wind force ten reached the region on Thursday. The Berlin Zoo and Tierpark will remain closed. Visiting parks and green spaces should also be avoided.
A storm is approaching Berlin and Brandenburg. Hurricane gusts are not excluded, as the German Weather Service announced in Potsdam on Wednesday.
On Wednesday it will therefore initially be cloudy with little sunshine. Later in the day the clouds increase with some rain or brief showers. Nevertheless, it remains relatively mild, the temperatures are between 17 and 21 degrees.
However, it could already be stormy on Thursday night. For the city of Berlin and parts of Brandenburg, the German Weather Service warns of severe gusts of wind from Thursday morning.
Wind speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour
Wind speeds of up to 85 kilometers per hour, sometimes up to 100 kilometers per hour, must be expected. That would correspond to wind forces nine and ten. Especially near thunderstorms, hurricane-like gusts of wind force eleven with up to 110 kilometers per hour are not excluded, according to the weather service, individual thunderstorms are expected in the north of Brandenburg. Towards evening the wind subsided.
A fresh southwest to westerly wind with partly stormy gusts is forecast for Friday, which will subside in the evening. It’s getting cooler. The temperatures only rise up to eleven degrees.
The zoo and animal park remain closed
Due to the announced autumn storm, the gates of the Zoo and Tierpark Berlin will remain closed on Thursday as a precaution. Falling branches of the old trees could pose a danger to visitors, the zoo and zoo management justified this step. The aquarium at Zoo Berlin, which will be open on Thursday until 6 p.m., is not affected by the closure, according to the announcement on Wednesday.
Zoo and animal park director Andreas Knieriem hopes that both facilities will be spared major damage and that it will be able to reopen on Friday. Guests with tickets for Thursday can rebook their tickets.
Better to avoid parks and green spaces
The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG) is also warning about the expected storm of branches falling off and tree uprooting in the parks it looks after. The trees were already weakened by the drought of recent years, according to the statement on Wednesday. The parks are best avoided, according to the SPSG.
The areas affected include the Sanssouci palaces in Potsdam and Berlin-Charlottenburg as well as the Rheinsberg, Caputh, Königs Wusterhausen, Oranienburg and Paretz palaces.
Broadcast: Brandenburg aktuell, October 20, 2021, 7:30 p.m.