Storm low over Germany: cyclones, hurricane gusts and storm surge warning

The storm lows “Ignatz” and “Hendrik” wreaked havoc: Rail traffic is severely restricted in many federal states, and a hurricane causes severe damage. Germany’s neighboring countries are also affected.

The storm over Germany has led to severe restrictions in rail traffic. In Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, the train service of the DB Regio is suspended until further notice, announced the Deutsche Bahn. In contrast, long-distance traffic continues under difficult conditions. Initially, the maximum speed on all routes in Thuringia was reduced to 80 kilometers per hour. As it was said, the storm caused delays and train cancellations nationwide.

Long-distance traffic in NRW starts again

Long-distance traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia was temporarily completely suspended. As announced by Deutsche Bahn, the first long-distance trains have been rolling again on some routes since midday. Train traffic will gradually be resumed on the first routes. However, there are still failures and delays in large parts of Germany. How long the disabilities will last cannot be foreseen yet.

The clean-up work on the Düsseldorf and Cologne route continues, and the ICE route to Wuppertal is not yet passable, said a spokesman. The storm had blown branches and trees onto tracks or overhead lines since the night.

The train advised to find out more before starting the journey. If you want to postpone your trip planned for today, you can flexibly use long-distance tickets that have already been booked for a week until the end of the disruption.

Cyclone leaves “path of devastation”

A cyclone caused severe damage in Schwentinental near Kiel. Fire department chief Kai Lässig reported that he had seen the trunk of the cyclone himself. The storm left a “path of devastation” about 100 meters wide.

Whether the German Weather Service (DWD) classifies the storm as a tornado will be checked when reports are received, said a spokesman. Lässig continued to report that several houses were badly damaged. Trees fell and cars were buried under them. According to his information, there were no injuries.

The storm also overturned trees in other places in Schleswig-Holstein. According to the DWD, Schleswig-Holstein was one of the federal states with the lowest wind speeds in Germany. The strongest gust was measured in Travemünde with 89 kilometers per hour.

Fallen trees cause numerous missions

In many places the fire brigades moved out because of fallen trees, fallen branches and parts of roofs. In the Bad Godesberg district of Bonn, a freight train collided with a fallen branch on the track during the night. In Düsseldorf, the fire brigade usually moved out because of loose branches, fallen trees or barriers at construction sites.

The Berlin fire brigade declared a state of emergency weather. There have been dozen weather-related missions since the morning. In Hamburg, two trees about 15 meters high fell on a car and a four-story apartment building. Nobody was injured.

The storm also caused initial damage in Bavaria. The police reported dozens of missions. Sometimes there were also power outages.

Passenger ship collides with bridge piers

The power went out in the morning in several places in the Palatinate and Koblenz. On the Moselle near Koblenz, a passenger ship was pressed against a bridge pillar by a strong gust and damaged. The bridge was also affected, as the police in the Rhineland-Palatinate city announced. The ship was able to continue, however, nothing was reported of injuries.

In Thuringia, numerous facilities such as the Erfurt Zoo and the Suhl Zoo have been closed. Municipal cemeteries in Erfurt were also closed, so that planned burials and funeral services were canceled. In the Harz mountains fell over numerous trees and blocked some roads, as the national park and the police announced.

“Going into the forest now is irresponsible”

The state forests and the national park warned against entering forests. “Going into the forest now is absolutely irresponsible. Even when the storm has subsided, trees can still fall over at any time,” warned Friedhart Knolle from the Harz National Park. The situation on the Brocken was already dramatic on Wednesday, said Knolle. Tourists in particular were irresponsible. Pictures from the summit showed children who were whirling around there and could no longer hold themselves, as well as adults with prams.

The DWD assumed heavy gusts of wind and sometimes hurricane-like gusts of up to 105 kilometers per hour. In the mountains there could even be hurricane gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour. In the northern half of Germany, “short-lived tornadoes” are not excluded, it said. According to the DWD, the wind from the west should decrease again in the course of the afternoon. It’s getting cooler overall.

Storm surge warning for northern Germany

For the afternoon and evening, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency warned of a storm surge on the North Sea and in the Weser and Elbe regions. The flood on the North Sea coast will be 1.00 to 1.50 meters and in the Weser and Elbe areas about 1.50 meters above the mean flood, it said. Further storm surges on Friday cannot be ruled out. The apex in Hamburg-St.-Pauli should be reached shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday.

After the stormy Thursday, according to the DWD, calmer autumn weather is in sight. On Friday, stormy gusts would sweep through the north, showers and thunderstorms are possible, while the weather otherwise calms down. In the south, in a wide strip from the Black Forest to Eastern Bavaria, it will be longer sunny, but with highs between 8 and 13 degrees it will be cooler than on the previous days. On the coasts and in some high areas, heavy gusts of wind must still be expected.

At least two people injured in the Czech Republic

Germany’s neighboring countries were also hit by storms. In the Czech Republic, a violent storm caused property damage and traffic obstructions. The fire brigades went out on hundreds of missions to clear fallen trees from streets and cars. At least two car occupants were trapped and seriously injured. Roofs were torn from houses. More than 60,000 households were temporarily without electricity due to damaged overhead lines.

There were significant delays and cancellations in rail traffic across the country. Several trains drove into uprooted trees, including an express train from Prague towards Munich. No casualties were reported in these accidents.

Serious damage also in the Netherlands

Squalls caused severe damage in the Netherlands. At least four people were slightly injured by falling roof tiles and uprooted trees, the authorities said. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol reported that flights had to be canceled. Passengers would have to expect long delays. Train traffic was also affected by the storm.

At a campsite in Zelhem in the east of the country near the German border, trees had fallen on caravans and holiday homes. People were not injured, as a campsite employee said on the radio. During the night there was also damage to a residential area in Barendrecht near Rotterdam. Sheds had collapsed and roof tiles had fallen. Three people were slightly injured.

250,000 households in France without electricity

In northern France, a storm caused disruption to traffic and electricity. About 250,000 households are without electricity, wrote network operator Enedis on Twitter. In Normandy alone, 80,000 households were affected. In the north and northwest of the country there were sometimes massive train cancellations.

Traffic was also restricted in the region around Paris. According to Météo France, the gusts of wind had moved across the country at up to 175 kilometers per hour. In the morning, the orange warning level still applied to three departments in the northeast.