Severe Storm in the Nuremberg Region: Airport Temporarily Suspends Operations, Several Injured

The Nuremberg Integrated Dispatch Center recorded a record number of around 3,000 emergency calls within five hours. This resulted in around 1,000 fire department operations in the Nuremberg, Fürth, and Erlangen area as well as in the districts of Fürth, Nürnberger Land, and Erlangen-Höchstadt. A spokesperson for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur stated: "Die Feuerwehren in der Region waren wirklich sehr stark ausgelastet".

Impact at the Airport

Operations at Nuremberg Airport had to be temporarily suspended completely. As the airport announced, emergency crews cleared storm damage to buildings, flooding caused by heavy rain, and damage to infrastructure. "Einsatzkräfte mussten nach Angaben des Flughafens unter anderem umgestürzte Bäume beseitigen und sich um Schäden an Dächern sowie Wasserschäden kümmern." After around 80 minutes, operations resumed. Three flights were diverted, and four others were delayed.

The fire department responded to around 1,100 operations due to fallen trees, flooded basements, flooded streets, and damage to roofs, according to its own figures. The Middle Franconia Police also registered around 200 weather-related operations. The cities of Nuremberg, Fürth, and Erlangen, as well as the districts of Nürnberger Land and Erlangen-Höchstadt, were affected by the "sehr plötzlich entstandenen Extremwetterlage", according to the fire department. In addition, numerous traffic accidents occurred.

Operations and Consequences

Around 200 operations were still open late in the evening. At the Röthenbach an der Pegnitz elementary school at Forstersberg in the Nürnberger Land district, in-person classes on Wednesday will be canceled due to windthrow and fallen trees, as the Bavarian Ministry of Education announced.

Further Weather Development

The German Weather Service (DWD) expected in its current forecast that on Wednesday morning there would be thundery rainfall in Saxony and the south of the country with a risk of heavy rain. "Örtlich besteht Unwettergefahr durch heftigen Starkregen, Hagel und orkanartige Böen." Heavy rain between 20 and 35 liters per square meter within a short period of time is possible. In isolated cases, there could also be extreme heavy rain with more than 40 liters per square meter. Until the morning hours, there could be thundery rainfall in the Erzgebirge and in Upper Lusatia as well as from Upper Swabia to the south of Upper Bavaria, according to the DWD. The thundery rainfall in the south and Saxony should then subside by midday, according to the DWD.

From the afternoon onward, individual strong thunderstorms are again possible, especially in the southern half. In the rest of the country, it should remain largely dry.