Heavy storms lashed parts of Germany overnight during the current heatwave, causing numerous injuries and flash flooding that briefly raised local water levels by almost 2 metres.
Hardest hit was the south-western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where river water in one area surged from 27 centimetres to 1.96 metres in under four hours. Such flooding occurred statistically only once every 50 years, said a spokeswoman for the affected Rhein-Lahn district.
However, flood warnings had already been issued, and emergency services were on standby. Outdoor events scheduled during the hot spell were cancelled as a precaution.
The fire department was called out dozens of times, but major damage was avoided, and the water level receded during the night, officials said.
In the adjacent state of Baden-Württemberg, nine people were injured by a nighttime lightning strike during a sports festival. Six were taken to hospital, but none were in a life-threatening condition, according to a spokesman.
Several people had pitched tents on a sports field for a handball festival in the town of Rastatt near Karlsruhe when a severe storm swept through the region.
A woman was slightly injured by another lightning strike about 100 kilometres south-east, also on a sports field. Emergency services transported her to hospital.
At the northern tip of Germany, 13 people sustained minor injuries when a storm wrought havoc at a festival near the city of Flensburg. The event in Viöl with around 5,000 attendees was temporarily evacuated overnight but allowed to resume on Saturday morning.
Near the north-western town of Leer in East Frisia, a tent camp with approximately 300 children had to be evacuated due to a storm, according to police. The children were taken home or picked up by their parents or guardians, with the assistance of the fire department. All were unharmed.
Fire departments were also called out in several other states.
The German Weather Service predicted more thunderstorms for the weekend. On Sunday morning – the first day of summer – the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and especially the Ruhr region, will be particularly affected. The most intense storms are expected later on Sunday in central and then south-east Germany
Meanwhile, meteorologists warned that the heatwave conditions would hold for the coming days, especially in central and southern Germany, with temperatures between 32 and 39 degrees Celsius.
The east is also feeling the June heat. On the A13 Autobahn between Berlin and Dresden, the German Automobile Club (ADAC) reported delays as the high temperatures caused the asphalt to swell.
The month’s highest temperature ever recorded in Germany was on June 30, 2019, when the mercury rose to 39.6 degrees in Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt.