Overview
- Germany’s weather service raised red alerts in several Bavarian counties Wednesday afternoon, warning of life‑threatening hazards from severe thunderstorms with hail and intense downpours.
- A broad belt from North Rhine‑Westphalia through Thuringia to Saxony faces multi‑hour totals of 20 to 40 liters per square meter in about 12 hours, with local peaks near 60, which can send small rivers up fast.
- Rain that intensified overnight had already reached up to 70 liters per square meter by Wednesday morning from Ostwestfalen across the Eichsfeld into the Harz, and forecasters see more heavy rain into Thursday in parts of the east and Upper Bavaria.
- Meteorologists report storm‑force gusts up to 70 to 90 km/h and hail in stronger cells, and they warn that April’s very dry spell left crusted ground that sheds water, raising the risk of flash floods, flooded roads and basements.
- Models and the DWD expect the pattern to ease from Thursday as high pressure builds, with a drier, warmer turn by Friday and a sunnier weekend.