The feared storms did not materialize with the arrival of low “Emmelinde” in Berlin and Brandenburg on Friday evening. It was raining heavily in the capital, with occasional thunder and lightning.
However, the situation was “absolutely calm”, said a spokesman for the Berlin fire brigade later in the evening. So far, there have been no reports of flooded basements, nor have the emergency services had to move out due to lightning strikes.
No major operations were initially known from Brandenburg either. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were recorded there, especially over the Lausitz. Official severe weather warnings for severe thunderstorms remained in place for the time being.
The German Weather Service (DWD) had previously warned of severe, sometimes extreme thunderstorms with massive effects for both federal states. In addition, the DWD expected heavy rain of 40 liters per square meter in one hour. Hailstones could be about five centimeters in size. There was initially no sign of this in the evening. However, the storms were announced well into the night.
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The Berlin fire brigade announced in the evening that it had reinforced its own professional guards with volunteer fire brigades in the evening. “They are available to us immediately in the event of an increase in emergency calls,” it said on Twitter. The Berlin Environment Senate has called on the people of the city to be careful in view of an approaching storm.
