Extreme winds German weather service warns of severe storm
Essen · The German Weather Service is warning of a severe storm starting Sunday. The meteorologists expect gusts of wind with a force of 9 to 12, but it is not yet clear which region in NRW will be most affected.
The German Weather Service has issued a warning for a severe storm starting Sunday. "The storm front of a deep low pressure system off the coast of Norway will affect all of Germany from Sunday with a climax in the night to Monday", the DWD wrote on Thursday on Twitter. In North Rhine-Westphalia the high point of the storm is expected between Sunday evening, 9 p.m., and Monday morning, 6 a.m., as meteorologist Bernd Hussing said in Essen.
"How strong this will be is still a little uncertain." The various models are not yet in agreement. For the strongest gusts, wind forces of 9 to 12 are currently expected. (On the Beaufort wind force scale, a 9 is strong or severe gales, 12 is hurricane force winds.) "No model currently expects more than 120 kilometers per hour." It is not yet clear which region in NRW will be most affected. By way of comparison: In the devastating hurricane Kyrill in January 2007, the strongest gust in low lying areas was registered in Düsseldorf with 145 kilometers per hour. The current storm system is expected to be named “Sabine".
On Sunday, the wind will continue to increase during the day, according to the forecast. Already from noon on, there will be widespread gusts of wind, with mild temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees Celsius. In higher altitudes, it is expected to reach 8 degrees. There will be rain showers as well. In the lower lying areas, the total amount of rainfall is expected to be about 10 to 15 liters per square meter, in the higher elevations it can be as much as 40 liters in areas where water accumulates.
In the coming week it will continue to be windy, "but not so strong anymore", Hussing continued. Still, gusts with strengths of 8 to 10 are to be expected. Otherwise it looks like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will feature typical April weather: "With rain, sleet showers and snow in the mountains.”
(Orig. text: dpa; Translation: ck)
