Overview
- The Deutscher Wetterdienst has active warnings and on Friday reported the first severe cells forming in the northwest with live radar showing storms beginning to spread east and south overnight.
- Forecasts warn of short‑duration extreme rainfall that can reach about 20–30 liters per square metre in an hour, hail larger than 1.5 cm and gusts locally near 100–110 km/h, conditions the DWD says can cause significant damage and danger to life.
- Initial impact is expected in Niedersachsen and North Rhine‑Westphalia before storms move into central and southern Germany through Saturday and Sunday, with slow‑moving cells raising the risk of flash flooding in urban and impermeable areas.
- Private forecasters highlight that strong wind shear and high instability could spawn organized supercells and that isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out, so people are urged to monitor DWD alerts, secure loose objects and avoid open water and fields during storms.
- The episode is forecast to run Friday through Sunday with a temporary calming under a high on Monday and the possibility of renewed thunderstorm activity early next week; the DWD uses clear 'unwetter' thresholds such as more than 25 l/m² in one hour, hail above 1.5 cm or over 40 l/m² in 12 hours to trigger its highest warnings.