Status: 08/08/2023 6:30 p.m
Failed ferry connections, fallen trees: Storm “Zacharias” has caused some problems in the north. But the damage is limited. It’s still stormy today, especially on the coasts – and some ferries still don’t go.
Especially on the Baltic Sea coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, there are still some heavy gusts of wind, with showers and thunderstorms, individual hurricane-like gusts cannot be ruled out. The German Weather Service (DWD) also warns of strong thunderstorms in parts of Schleswig-Holstein. The northern parts of the federal state are particularly affected, including Fehmarn, the Neumünster region and the area between Husum and Kiel.
In addition to thunderstorms coming from the west, according to forecasts by the DWD, there can also be gusts of wind with up to 85 kilometers per hour and heavy rain in the areas. Residents are asked to watch out for falling branches, roof tiles or other loose objects. There may also be temporary traffic delays due to downpours.
MV: Further obstructions in ferry traffic
The storm, with its center over Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, also has an impact on ferry traffic again. The Hiddensee shipping company only resumed ferry traffic to the island in the afternoon, as did the water taxi. The Wittower and Rügen ferries remain in port today due to the weather. The same applies to the Zingst shipping company. More information about departures and cancellations can be found on the White Fleet website. On the other hand, Scandlines resumed ferry operations from Rostock to Gedser in the morning, and TT-Line is going to Trelleborg again. Both lines had canceled their departures on Monday.
The storm has hardly caused any damage on land until this morning. A few trees fell between the Mecklenburg Lake District and the Baltic Sea, but these were quickly cleared away by firefighters, as spokesmen for the police headquarters in Rostock and Neubrandenburg said. There were no injuries or major disabilities. In the district of Rostock, a gust from a wind turbine on Monday first tore off a piece of a rotor blade, and soon after the mast buckled.
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Schleswig-Holstein: Ferries were cancelled, some surfing events start later
Strong waves also prevailed on the North Sea in Sankt Peter-Ording on Monday.
According to NDR 1 Welle Nord, there were no ferries to and from Helgoland throughout Monday, this morning the shipping company Cassen-Eils sent a ship from Cuxhaven according to the timetable. On the Hallig line, the ferries should run again in the evening. According to the control centers in the country, nothing major happened on Tuesday night. The fire brigades in the country moved out almost 20 times. On Monday there were around 80 missions. According to the control centers, individual trees fell and many branches snapped off.
A storm surge has also flooded the beach at St. Peter-Ording. The “Multivan Kite Surf Masters” will start there on Wednesday as planned – but only the sporting competitions, because “they don’t want to just let the good conditions for the kiters pass by”, according to the organizers. The supporting program only begins on Thursday morning, one day later than planned: the lost construction time cannot be made up for, hence the later start for the so-called “village”.
Ferries also canceled in Lower Saxony
The storm low also causes stormy weather in Lower Saxony. Several ferry companies canceled ferry trips on Monday afternoon due to the expected flooding and storm. For example, timetables changed for island traffic to and from Wangerooge and Spiekeroog, as the ferry companies announced on the Internet. The express ferry to and from Spiekeroog is therefore not running today either, but the other ships should be sailing again.
storm surge and umfallen trees in Hamburg
The lower parking lot in Neumühlen was flooded on Monday evening.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) issued a storm surge warning for the evening flood on the North Sea coast on Monday. There was flooding in Hamburg, including the fish market and the parking lot at the museum harbor in Neumühlen. There, the Elbe level rose to around 1.5 meters above mean high water.
In the Hamburg district of Iserbrook, a 20-meter-high linden tree snapped on Monday and fell on a terraced house. Nobody got hurt. A tree also crashed on the A24 in the direction of Berlin near HH-Jenfeld, as well as on a café in the Eppendorf district. In the city center, the wind ripped an art installation out of a wall. Overall, the fire brigade counted 72 storm-related missions on Monday, the night on Tuesday then remained quiet. Apart from a few fallen trees, there were no storm-related operations, the police said in the morning.
Train travelers should check their connections
“Zacharias” also disrupted rail traffic. Because of a fallen tree, regional trains between Flensburg, Kiel and Hamburg were sometimes delayed on Monday. Also affected by the storm: connections between Sylt and Hamburg, Heide and Itzehoe and Hamburg and Hanover. The disruptions have now been largely resolved, but according to Bahn, the effects of the storm on rail traffic until late in the evening cannot be ruled out. Passengers should still on the Deutsche Bahn website see if your train is running as planned.
Unusually strong summer storm
That there is a storm like “Zacharias” at this time of year is extremely unusual, said Michael Knobelsdorf from the German Weather Service (DWD): “We expect such a storm in autumn and not in midsummer.” It was created by the merger of two low-pressure systems that moved from Great Britain and Italy towards Poland.
A little more sun, temperatures rising
After the storm, weeks of rain and fairly cool temperatures, summer is expected to return again this week. From Thursday it should remain largely dry, on the weekend and after that a wide range of 20 to 25 degrees can be expected – and the proportion of sunshine should also increase.
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NDR Info | Current | 08/08/2023 | 17:00 o’clock