People on the Elbe, Weser and Ems have to prepare for severe storm surges. The water levels in the rivers are expected to rise to more than 2.5 meters above mean high water on Friday morning, said the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). Severe storm surge applies when the water level is 2.5 meters above mean high water.
Potential for a severe storm surge
Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony are affected. The storm surge expected for the North Sea coasts and rivers on Thursday evening already has the potential to rise to the level of a severe storm surge: “We are now seeing a tendency that there could be a severe storm surge on Thursday evening,” said Jennifer Brauch from the BSH -Forecasting services for the North and Baltic Seas. The forecast will show more details at noon.
The German Weather Service (DWD) is also expecting heavy squalls on land and sometimes hurricane-like gusts on the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas on Thursday. He warned of hurricane-like gusts with wind speeds of up to 115 kilometers per hour along the entire North Sea coast from 12 p.m. The severe weather warning was valid for the Baltic Sea from 6 p.m., as DWD meteorologist Mareike Pohling said.