Storm deep devastated NRW: traffic paralyzed and parks closed!

A storm low led to considerable traffic disruptions in North Rhine-Westphalia on January 6, 2025 after numerous trees have fallen. The German Weather Service (DWD) had warned of severe gusts of wind until evening, which were particularly noticeable in the west of the state. At this point there were no reports about injuries, but parks were closed and the population was asked not to stay outdoors.

In many regions, train routes in North Rhine -Westphalia are not accessible due to fallen trees that have damaged the overhead lines. Railway companies had to organize and report rail replacement traffic of diversions as well as delays, especially on the connections between Cologne and Aachen as well as Cologne and Düsseldorf. A positive incident occurred in Bergisch-Gladbach-Gronau, where a train driver of the S-Bahn line 11 was able to stop in front of a fallen tree.

traffic disruptions and damage

The Autobahn 560 at Hennef was blocked in both directions due to the flying parts of a soundproofing wall. This block could continue until the night. On the A3 a tree protruded onto the road, while branches fell onto the street on the A61, which resulted in additional traffic disruptions.

The city of Cologne urgently warned of stays outdoors and asked the citizens, forest areas, parks, cemeteries and avenues. The DWD also put its warning about smooth roads and predicted sometimes heavy storms that should also spread to the east of NRW. In the mountains, hurricane -like gusts are possible with speeds of over 100 km/h.

already the day before January 5, the weather in North Rhine -Westphalia was characterized by a snow cover and mitigating temperatures, which rose strongly on January 6th. The storm led to blocked train tracks, damaged houses and cars as well as closed parks. Cities urged the citizens to stay at home.

The fire brigade was in constant use in the entire region. In Herdecke, an injured person was saved by a house roof who had an accident while securing photovoltaic modules. In Bochum, a tree fell onto the company bike of a postman, who was unharmed. In Oberhausen, the fire brigade recorded over 20 missions, with many revolving photovoltaic modules. Roads also had to be closed in Dortmund, as threatening overturns of building scaffolding occurred and in Huckard a tree fell on a power line.

In addition, there were disruptions in local public transport. The Rheinbahn in Düsseldorf reported delays, while the railway line between Hagen Hbf and Hagen-Oberhagen was closed on the tracks due to a tree. Due to the storm, the green Zoo Wuppertal and the Düsseldorf wildlife park remained closed, which illustrates the effects of the storm on the leisure opportunities of the citizens.