Gale winds sent gusts of 126 km/h in the city of Salzburg and uprooted numerous trees and covered roofs.
Many Salzburg residents thought they were in a Hollywood movie on Saturday night and suspected a tornado in the middle of the capital. Wind gusts of up to 126 km/h raged over the city. An overturned plane, uprooted trees and water intrusion during an opera at the Festspielhaus were the direct consequences of the unusually strong thunderstorm.
The damage was still clearly visible on Sunday. The armed forces first cleared the main connections. This alone lasted until 5pm on Sunday. Firefighters had been on the scene for 20 hours. “We received great support from the volunteer fire brigade,” reports Werner Kloiber of the Salzburg professional fire brigade. The balance: More than 40 men from the professional fire brigade plus 85 men from the volunteers took care of more than 120 fallen trees and various covered roofs. “We had to be quick before the next thunderstorm came and caused additional damage,” Kloiber said. His people also had to move to an apartment fire in the morning. Fortunately, the apartment was unoccupied. So nobody got hurt.
The thunderstorm claimed at least one seriously injured person in the Salzach Galleries area on Saturday night.
Lepi will be permanently closed on Monday
Due to the serious damage, the popular Leopoldskronerbad had to be closed. “For safety reasons. The trees must first be checked,” says alderman Bernhard Auinger.
The city began removing the fallen trees and remaining damage in the bathroom on Sunday morning. The Lepi could potentially unlock again on Tuesday. Some areas, such as those for the children, will certainly remain closed.
The heavy thunderstorm with a so-called “downburst” – hard winds – came as a surprise to the meteorologists. “Instead of several small thunderstorms, only one large thunderstorm formed, absorbing all the energy,” explains Josef Haslhofer from Geosphere Austria. He was also surprised by the longevity and clear trajectory of the thundercell. This was formed in Teisendorf (D) and then moved to the south of Flachgau.
Thunderstorms are also expected in the coming days due to the unstable weather conditions. It is impossible to say in advance how strong these will be, nor where exactly they will occur.
Source: Krone
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