Hail, heavy rain, storm: the south of Germany will be hit by severe storms on Pentecost Sunday. Some places in the Allgäu are even covered by a thick white layer of hail. There is no all-clear yet.
There were heavy thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind in the Allgäu on Pentecost Sunday. The police said there were sometimes heavy hailstorms. In some places in the Lindau district it looked as if it had snowed: streets and squares were covered by a thick layer of white hail, and a wheel loader was used to remove it.
Many bathing vacationers at the lakes were hit by the storm out of the blue. Within minutes the storm hit. Several trees fell down, the fire brigade was in constant use. More damage may be expected as more thunderstorms are forecast in the area, police warned.
An enormous amount of rain also fell in the Enzkreis district in Baden-Württemberg – up to 60 liters per square meter, also as hail and heavy rain. Within a few minutes, several streets were under water. The areas around Pforzheim, Mühlacker, Maulbronn and Sternenfels were primarily affected.
In France, the storm killed a woman and injured 15 people. As announced by France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, the woman was swept away by a mudslide in Rouen, northern France, and drowned because she was trapped under a car.
Large parts of France were affected by heavy rain and thunderstorms on Saturday. Hailstones – some larger than golf balls – caused considerable damage in the Landes and Gers departments in the south-west of the country. Between 4,000 and 5,000 hectares of vineyards and tens of thousands of hectares of cultivated land are said to be affected in the Gers alone. Around 50,000 lightning strikes were registered, and around 15,000 households were cut off from the power supply.