More are possible – Several tornadoes crossed the German states

Tornado Mapping & Investigation Project Germany reported on the weather phenomena and also showed a video of a tornado east of Velen. “Nothing is known about possible damage so far. A possible tornado near Alpen and Wesel was also reported,” the organization writes on X.

Expert: “Tornadoes are impossible to predict”
The website www.tornadoliste.de also records several tornado sightings. Two of them – in Hochmoor and Wallach – are considered confirmed. Weather phenomena always occur unexpectedly, as Dominik Jung of wetter.net explained to “Bild”: “You don’t see things like that on normal weather maps. Tornadoes are unpredictable. They remain eyewitness accounts.”

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

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

The storm still caused damage, even though it was not caused by a tornado. In Kasewinkel near Münster, several trees fell in a short time, Bild reports. The cause is said to be a strong gust of wind that struck around 19:30. However, only a very limited local area was affected, a spokesman for the fire department reports. Emergency services had to clear trees that were partly lying on the road.