Thunderstorms hit the southernmost parts of Germany hard on Wednesday evening, flooding the A96 highway with knee-high water in the district of Landsberg am Lech.

As of Thursday morning, the German weather service (DWD) still has thunderstorm warnings in place in parts of Bavaria. The DWD also warns that there is potential for heavy rainfall across much of the country.

Heat warnings remain in place today as high temperatures are expected along with humid conditions.

Thunder and rain move across the country

With the exception of the west and northeast parts of the country, heavy thunderstorms can be expected almost nationwide on Thursday, according to the DWD.

In some regions, heavy rain could amount to over 30 litres per square metre – even 40 litres per square metre within local areas.

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Thunderstorms may also bring strong gusts of wind and small-grained hail.

In the evening thunderstorms will decrease in the southwest and central parts of the country, and pick up in the north and northeastern regions.

Here too the storms can be expected to bring heavy bursts of rain, strong winds and hail.

Scattered storms can be expected throughout Germany over the weekend, with the peak expected between Saturday and Sunday, according to DWD.

Cleanup underway in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg

In Baden-Württemberg’s Rhein-Neckar district, roads flooded and trees fell in the storm on Wednesday. 

In Sinsheim-Steinfurt, water levels were half a metre high in some streets, according to the police.

The Tagesspiegel reports that a truck driver got stuck on a flooded road. Also, in Eschelbronn, lightning struck a residential building, but no one was injured.

In Stuttgart and Frankfurt, Euro 2024 fan zones were closed at short notice due to the storms on Wednesday evening. Stuttgart’s fan zones reopened after a short time, but Frankfurt’s remained closed for the evening.

Plans to build up emergency shelters delayed

Meanwhile, in Berlin a federal government plan to build out emergency accommodation in the form of a mobile, temporary housing is delayed.

A so-called mobile care reserve – essentially a tent city with electricity, mobile kitchens, basic medical care and Wi-Fi – with capacity for 5,000 people is to be built up and managed by the German Red Cross (DRK) for emergency events like severe weather, according to a federal government plan. 

But the care reserve which was supposed to be completed this year won’t be finished until 2026.

The mobile emergency shelter would be useful during extreme weather events that displace communities, such as floods or fires.

A similar shelter was first deployed in June 2021 to expand the capacity of a Covid vaccination centre. Months later parts of the module were sent to flood areas in North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.

With reporting by DPA.