Sturmchaos in Euskirchen: kinks trees, streets locked!

On Monday, January 6, 2025, the district of Euskirchen experienced violent gusts of wind at speeds of up to 100 km/h. As a result of the strong winds, there were crunched trees and branches, which resulted in several smaller operations by the fire brigade. The infrastructural conditions in the region were also not spared: motorways and train routes were affected.

The A560 in the neighboring Rhein-Sieg district had to be blocked due to the surrounded parts of a soundproofing wall. There was also a tree on the A61 in the northern Rhein-Erft district. In Cologne, a Christmas tree on the banks of the Rhine fell onto the Stadtbahn tracks, which also affected traffic. According to the Deutsche Bahn, some routes were temporarily unavailable, since fallen trees damaged the overhead lines. The routes between Cologne and Düren as well as the connection at Leverkusen and Bergisch-Gladbach.

were particularly affected

fire brigade operations and gusts of wind

In the district of Euskirchen, the fire brigades in Bad Münstereifel and Mechernich set up several storm inserts. A country road between Mechernich and Satzvey was also blocked for a short time. At a measuring station in Kall-sisted, wind gusts of up to 85 km/h were registered.

The severe weather events that are currently being overrun across Germany are not to be considered in isolation. According to an overview of storm-chaser.ch have extreme weather events in 2024 in large parts of Europe for numerous storms, overflowing and thunderstorms. These developments indicate an increasing frequency and intensity of weather extremes, which according to meteorologists are favored by climate change.

The weather conditions in Europe, for example, comprise about 45 thunderstorm events in Germany as well as about 12 storms and significant floods in different federal states. These storm events represent a serious challenge for the affected regions and show the risks associated with the climate changes.