Hail, heavy rain, even tornadoes: The line of thunderstorms that forms over Germany on the evening of May 19 is a tough one! In an interview, the meteorologist Marcus Beyer from the German Weather Service explains which factors lead to the storm being so severe – and what the greatest danger of the current weather situation is.
»Spektrum.de«: Mr. Beyer, the weather models predict extreme storms for Friday. Meteorologists write on Twitter that they very rarely see such explosive weather maps, and some are downright concerned. What’s going on there?
Marcus Beyer: The calculations that come in here at the weather center are pretty tough. Such weather maps are rare, which is quite impressive. It’s not every year that we see values like this. We therefore expect a pronounced severe thunderstorm situation for large parts of the country.
Where exactly will the storms go?
The exact track is still uncertain, but we expect the center of gravity to be in the central parts of the country. People should brace themselves for heavy thunderstorms on the way tomorrow. In the afternoon a line of thunderstorms will gather in the west, pass over the middle and reach the east in the evening. We expect hurricane gusts, large hail, heavy rain. Even tornadoes are not excluded. You really have to reckon with all the messes that are possible in such situations.
© Deutscher Wetterdienst DWD (detail)
Marcus Beyer | The graduate meteorologist works for the German Weather Service.
Why is the situation so explosive?