More are possible

Several tornadoes swept across Germany’s federal state

Symbolic image

(Bild: Minerva Studio/stock.adobe.com)

Cool and damp autumn weather has the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia firmly in its grip. Several tornadoes were also spotted there on Wednesday evening - according to the German weather service, tornadoes could also occur on Thursday.

Tornado Kartierungs- & Untersuchungsprojekt Deutschland reported on the weather phenomena and also showed a video of a tornado east of Velen. "So far, nothing is known about possible damage. A possible tornado was also reported near Alpen and Wesel," writes the organization on X.

Expert: "Tornadoes cannot be predicted"
Several tornado sightings are also recorded on the website www.tornadoliste.de. Two of them - in Hochmoor and Wallach - are considered confirmed. The weather phenomena always come as a surprise, as Dominik Jung from wetter.net explained to Bild: "You don't see this on normal weather maps. Tornadoes cannot be predicted. It remains with eyewitness reports."

Another video on X is said to show a tornado in the town of Geldern:

According to the weather service, 20 to 60 tornadoes are detected in Germany every year. However, it is rather rare for them to cause major damage. The south and west in particular are tornado hotspots: It is relatively warm and more humid there than in the rest of the country.

The storm nevertheless caused damage, albeit not from a tornado. In Kasewinkel near Münster, several trees toppled over in a short space of time, as reported by Bild. A strong gust of wind is said to be responsible, which raged at around 7.30 pm. However, only a very localized area was affected, reported a fire department spokesperson. Emergency services had to clear away trees, some of which were lying on the road.