Nice weather in the north with up to 23 degrees and rain in the south below 20 degrees. The weather this weekend is not typical for this time of the year. The latest news in the weather ticker.
From “high-over-low” to Vb-like low – this is what the weather will be like this weekend
Friday, May 12, 5:30 p.m.: Germany is right between a high and a low area this weekend. While a high pressure block (“high”) has solidified over the Atlantic and the Baltic States, an extensive low pressure complex (“low”) hangs over the Mediterranean area. At this time of the year, a reversal with a low towards Iceland and the North Sea is common.
Aside from a few flat fair-weather cumuli, solar yields should be very high in the northern parts of the country over the weekend. Pleasant maximum values of 20 to 23 degrees invite you to activities in the fresh air or to a barbecue in the evening. A somewhat different picture emerges for the southern half. The proximity to the low-pressure complex over the Mediterranean leaves its mark, because humid and slightly unstable air remains dominant here. The many clouds in the southern regions show little willingness to make a little space for the sun. In addition, local showers or even short thunderstorms can develop, especially from the afternoon hours, for example from the low mountain range and south of it. During a leisure trip or gardening, you should be prepared for one or two downpours or at least keep an eye on the rain radar. The mercury also does not come out of the quark in the southern half and mostly remains below the 20 degree mark.
It gets exciting during the course of Sunday. The impending situation is initiated by an elliptical high-altitude low, which is oriented roughly from the Iberian Peninsula to the western Alps. On Sunday, the eastern part splits off and also initiates renewed, stronger soil development over northern Italy. This then goes on a so-called Vb (pronounced: five-b) similar trajectory. In the 1890s, the meteorologist Wilhelm Jacob van Bebber divided the low-pressure hiking trails into 5 classes. The travel route from our Vb low leads via the eastern Alps further via the Czech Republic and Poland and later even further north-northeast to the Baltic states (see animated figure 2). Areas of low pressure with such a trajectory always give rise to a certain alarm signal in meteorological circles. Such weather conditions are predestined to cause flooding. Because lows rotate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, the Vb lows carry very humid and warm Mediterranean air on their front. At the same time, cooler air masses on the west flank of the lows are flowing further south far over western Europe. The warm, humid, northward-moving air masses from the Mediterranean are therefore forced to slide up over the cooler ones. These uplift processes are sometimes associated with longer-lasting and more productive precipitation. The precise air mass configuration is also decisive for the intensity of precipitation. Due to the time of year, the potential for stormy rain totals is somewhat more limited. An indication of this is provided, for example, by the precipitation of water in the atmosphere. With values of 20 to 25, locally maybe around 30 l/m² of precipitable water, the air mass is not extremely humid.
But you shouldn’t put your umbrella or rain jacket too far away in the other parts of the country either. On the west flank of the low, showery weather will set in in the west and south-west, including one or two thunderstorms. Exactly where it will pour is still open. In the far north one stays the longest in the enjoyment of longer sunny and dry weather.
Rainy May in Bavaria – fresh snow in the Alps
Thursday, May 11, 7:29 p.m.: With a lot of rain and fresh snow in the mountains, May shows up these days. The German Weather Service (DWD) warned on Thursday of continuous rain south of the Danube and of fresh snow at altitudes over 1500 meters. Up to 20 liters of rain per square meter could fall in some areas on Friday night.
According to a DWD spokesman, around 35 centimeters of fresh snow fell on the Zugspitze on Thursday night. The last snow cover on Germany’s highest mountain was 3.6 meters. At the weekend, the DWD expects more snow, especially at altitudes over 2000 meters – on the Zugspitze with up to 20 centimeters.
In the rest of the Free State, it remains changeable and sometimes rainy. On Saturday and Sunday, precipitation will decrease in most regions. There could be showers and thunderstorms in some places. The maximum values should be between 13 and 20 degrees Celsius in the coming days.
The coming week is also expected to start rainy. A high pressure area over Bavaria is currently not foreseeable, said the weather expert.
ambiguous Wetter in Central Germany
7.09 am: People in central Germany have to prepare for mixed weather on Wednesday. While it remains dry and sunny east of the Elbe, cloudy skies and isolated showers are to be expected west of it, as a spokeswoman for the German Weather Service (DWD) said on Wednesday morning.
During the course of the day, the clouds with predominantly light rain will slowly spread from Thuringia to the east towards the Elbe. Repeated showers are expected throughout the day, especially in the Harz Mountains. In Thuringia, the temperatures are therefore only 15 to 16 degrees, while in Upper Lusatia there can be maximum values of 22 degrees.
On Thursday, from midday onwards, there should also be a greater loosening of the cloud cover in western central Germany. It will remain mostly dry. The temperatures are between 15 and 20 degrees.
Berlin expects a mild Wednesday with lots of sun
Wednesday, May 10, 6:40 a.m.: The people of Berlin and Brandenburg can look forward to a bright Wednesday with sunshine and mild temperatures. Most hours of sunshine are expected in eastern Brandenburg, as the German Weather Service announced in the morning. Accordingly, isolated clouds can rise on Wednesday afternoon from the Prignitz to the Fläming.
The maximum values are around 18 degrees in the west of Brandenburg and 22 degrees in the east of the country. Around 20 degrees are expected in Berlin. According to the DWD, local gusts of wind of 50 kilometers per hour are possible in the Uckermark and in the Oderbruch during the course of the day.
In the night to Thursday, more and more clouds gradually appear, but it remains largely free of precipitation. Only in western Brandenburg local rain showers cannot be ruled out. The temperatures are between 11 and 8 degrees.
On Thursday it will be cloudy and dry. According to the DWD, isolated rain showers are expected from the Prignitz to the Fläming to the Elster with a maximum temperature of up to 21 degrees.
Heavy rain causes river levels to rise in the west
7:23 p.m.: Heavy rain will cause the levels of smaller rivers to rise noticeably in the coming days. According to forecasts by the German Weather Service (DWD), 10 to 20 liters of rain per square meter can come together in western Germany by this Wednesday. In the low mountain ranges around 30 liters are possible. This corresponds to almost half a month’s precipitation, explained DWD meteorologist Felix Dietzsch on Tuesday in Offenbach. Almost all western parts of the country between the North Sea and Lower Bavaria have to be prepared for rain on Wednesday. Thunderstorms with heavy rain are also possible.
The Allgäu and the foothills of the Alps are facing continuous rain at least until Thursday. According to the DWD forecast, it can end up being 50 to 70 liters per square meter there. Otherwise, the rain will gradually retreat towards the southeast over the course of Wednesday and Thursday.
From the Baltic Sea to eastern Bavaria, on the other hand, it will remain mostly dry in the coming days. The temperatures in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania continue to rise to more than 20 degrees. Because of the rain, it stays cooler in the rest of Germany. According to the DWD, it will hardly be 15 degrees in the south in continuous rain.
Weather service warns of heavy rain in north-west Lower Saxony
6.35 p.m.: The German Weather Service (DWD) warns of heavy rain in an area in north-western Lower Saxony until Tuesday evening. As the weather service announced on its website, heavy rain with precipitation between 25 and 35 liters per square meter is expected in a strip from East Frisia to Emsland by 9 p.m. within one hour.
According to the weather forecast, prolonged heavy rain is to be expected overall on Tuesday evening in the area west of the Weser; with quantities of around 30 liters per square meter within six hours. Storm-like amounts of up to 50 liters per square meter are also possible locally during this time, it said.
Rain, thunderstorms and temperatures up to 22 degrees in NRW
Tuesday, May 9, 12:34 p.m.: The weather in North Rhine-Westphalia will be cloudy and rainy on Tuesday and in the coming days. In places, heavy rain can also occur on Tuesday afternoon, as reported by the German Weather Service (DWD). Accordingly, only a few showers are to be expected in the morning, which will shift from the west of the country to the east in the afternoon. Thunderstorms can also be expected in some places. According to the DWD, temperatures will reach between 17 and 20 degrees on Tuesday and up to 22 degrees in East Westphalia. At higher altitudes it will be around 15 degrees warm. In the night to Wednesday it then rained heavily, according to the DWD.
The rain from the night should quickly pull away in the east on Wednesday. Otherwise, according to the DWD, it will remain cloudy with showers and isolated thunderstorms. The maximum temperatures will reach 15 to 18 degrees on Wednesday and 13 degrees at high altitudes. According to the DWD, the precipitation will decrease somewhat on Thursday night before new thunderstorms and showers can occur in some areas during the day. The temperatures will reach a maximum of 18 degrees on Thursday.
Heavy rain causes flooding in south-west Germany
07.16: Heavy rain has caused flooded streets and landslides in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg. The fire brigade was on Sunday and Monday night with hundreds of forces, it was said.
In the municipality of Daaden-Herdorf in Rhineland-Palatinate, some streets and basements were flooded by heavy rain around 7 p.m. on Sunday evening. Smaller landslides also caused some debris to land on the roads. The German Red Cross looked after around 30 people in the community center in Daaden who had to be evacuated from their homes. No one was injured, according to the Technical Operations Center (TEL).
According to the information, rail traffic between Daaden and Betzdorf was discontinued. The situation slowly eased again early Monday morning, a spokesman said. The people cared for in the community center were able to return to their homes.
Storms had also caused chaos in the Zollernalb district in Baden-Württemberg. Hundreds of firefighters were deployed. Due to heavy rain, streams burst their banks in the city of Balingen on Sunday afternoon and streets were flooded. The fire brigade said that several families in Balingen could no longer leave their homes because the water had washed over the buildings. They had fled to the upper floors, some had stayed there, some had been taken out of the buildings with ladders.
In other places in Rhineland-Palatinate, the heavy rain on Sunday led to fire brigade operations. In Nentershausen and the surrounding area, an adjacent slope had been undermined at the junction of two country roads. The roadway was heavily soiled by mud and debris. In Großholbach – also in the Westerwald – a lightning strike had struck caused material damage to a conservatory. Some roads around Kaiserslautern were obstructed by fallen trees, a police spokesman said on Monday morning. According to the police, some cellars in Römerberg were full.
The heavy rainfall also caused two accidents on Sunday on Autobahn 3 in the direction of Cologne, with several injuries.
Clouds, rain and a few thunderstorms at the start of the week
Monday, May 8, 06:26: At the beginning of the week, meteorologists expect sunshine in some regions of Germany and clouds and heavy thunderstorms in others. According to the forecast of the German Weather Service (DWD), on Monday it will be sunny and dry from the Baltic Sea to Saxony. Otherwise it will remain cloudy, partly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. There could also be more severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, especially in the south-west. According to the DWD, the maximum temperature is 15 to 23 degrees. For Sunday afternoon, the DWD had already predicted local thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail and stormy gusts in the west and south-west and near the Alps. Extreme storms cannot be ruled out.
On Tuesday it should be sunny and dry from the Baltic Sea to the Bavarian Forest. Otherwise there will be heavy cloud cover, with rain in some areas. According to the meteorologists, individual thunderstorms are also expected from the west in the afternoon. The maximum values are 16 to 22 degrees.
Surf tips:
- Precipitation – How rain is formed – clearly explained
- Location is important – collecting rainwater in the garden: the best tips
- Heavy rain – water in the basement: you can do that
You can find more information about the weather conditions on the following pages.
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