Status: 08/14/2023 2:58 p.m
In the north there was less lightning last year than at any time since the turn of the millennium. Oldenburg is one of the cities in Germany with the lowest lightning density. Hamburg is a lightning stronghold.
This emerges from data from the Blitz information service from Siemens. One of the reasons for the decline in lightning strikes is the drought of the past year. In the summer of 2022, there were sometimes extreme droughts with high temperatures, according to Stephan Thern, head of the Blitz information service. June and August are “usually the best time for thunderstorms. But the amount of precipitation was well below the target value. But thunderstorms need both – moisture and hot temperatures.”
Significantly less lightning in Lower Saxony
The decline was noticeable in northern Germany: last year there was less lightning than it had been in more than 20 years, said a spokesman when asked by NDR. This can also be seen in Lower Saxony: In 2022, the district of Harburg was at the top in Lower Saxony with a density of 1.28 lightning strikes per square kilometer. In relation to previous years, this is very little: in 2021 the city of Emden, the leader at the time, had around 3.9 impacts per square kilometer, in 2020 Wolfsburg reached a value of 5.8.
Lowest lightning density: Oldenburg at the forefront nationwide
The Blitzatlas 2022 recorded the fewest strikes in Lower Saxony for Oldenburg: With a value of 0.14, the city also came third nationwide among the municipalities with the lowest lightning density. With a lightning density of 0.5 and 23,850 registered strikes, the whole of Lower Saxony was in the middle of the field in Germany.
Lots of lightning in Hamburg
Hamburg however, is the lightning stronghold of the north. With 0.81 flashes per square meter, the city-state recorded the third highest lightning density in Germany. In Schleswig-Holstein most lightning strikes in the district of Stormarn – the lightning density there was 0.78. The Blitzatlas recorded the lowest values in Neumünster (0.17) and Rendsburg-Eckernförde (0.29). In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the lightning information service counted 16,159 lightning strikes last year, which corresponded to a density of 0.7 lightning strikes per square kilometer. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was thus exactly at the level of the average nationwide lightning density.
Baden-Württemberg tops the list of federal states
The experts recorded the highest lightning density in Germany in Kempten, Bavaria, with a value of 2.45. Brandenburg an der Havel brought up the rear with 0.04 lightning strikes per square kilometer. In a comparison of the federal states, Baden-Württemberg led the list with a value of 0.97, while Thuringia took last place with a value of 0.39. Across Germany, about 0.7 lightning strikes per square kilometer last year. The experts counted 242,421 lightning strikes in Germany. That was the lowest value since measurements began in 1991. In 2021 it had flashed almost twice as often.
Further information
A woman was seriously injured by a falling tree. Lightning set several houses on fire in Schleswig-Holstein. (07/10/2023) more
How high was the water where you were? Did you photograph a flash? > collects and publishes the strongest photos. (06/23/2023) more
The city of Emden is ahead in Lower Saxony in 2021. Among the northern countries, Schleswig-Holstein is at the top. (07/18/2022) more
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NDR 1 Lower Saxony | Current | 08/14/2023 | 08:00 a.m