Overview
- The heatwave that peaked on Saturday saw daytime highs up to about 38.5°C and left large parts of Germany under official DWD heat warnings and strong heat‑stress advisories.
- The Deutscher Wetterdienst warned of severe thunderstorms with heavy and flash rain, large hail and damaging gusts and placed six districts around Cottbus under Warnstufe Rot for imminent Unwetter.
- A lightning strike at a campsite during a sport event in Rastatt injured nine people, six of whom were taken to hospital, and other lightning incidents caused additional, mostly minor injuries.
- Heavy storms produced rapid river rises and local flooding in the Rhein‑Lahn‑Kreis that federal authorities described as an 'Extremhochwasser' risk before levels fell later overnight.
- Authorities have mobilised fire, police and medical services, temporarily evacuated festival sites and ordered preventive aerial forest‑fire observation in Oberfranken as forecasts warn the hot, stormy pattern will persist into the coming week.