Tornado via Lütmarsen: sports home badly damaged - an eyewitness report!

Tornado via Lütmarsen: sports home badly damaged - an eyewitness report!

On Friday, May 20, 2025, the TuS Lütmarsen sports club experienced a dramatic natural event in North Rhine-Westphalia. Wilfried Mönnekes, the deputy chairman of the association with over 350 members, reported a tornado who appeared near the sports home. Mönnekes and a friend had met at the sports home to take an e-bike excursion, but had to be canceled due to the bad weather. Suddenly they looked at the tornado from Ovenhausen.

In the panic -like situation, both were looking for protection in the back corner of the sports home. After about a minute, the tornado event was over, but the roof of the sports home had caused considerable damage. This incident raises questions about the increasing frequency of such extreme weather events that can be observed not only in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in other regions of Germany.

weather extreme in focus

In order to sensitize the population to the topic of weather extremes, new measures were recently taken in Bremerhaven. On March 20, 2025, the Bremerhaven Klimahaus opened an impressive permanent exhibition entitled "Weather Extreme". The exhibition extends over 1,485 square meters and comprises three levels that treat topics such as heat, storms and floods in detail.

Visitors to the exhibition have the opportunity to perform as weather moderators in a Green screen studio and experience extreme weather events up close. A special highlight is the "Uplift" platform, which raises up to 40 people eight meters to simulate the feeling of extreme weather conditions. This immersive experience is enriched by 360-degree productions, sound effects, fog and smoke effects as well as wind machines.

The exhibition is supported by well-known personalities such as the meteorologist Özden Terli, the astronaut Insa Thiele-Eich and the climate researcher Dr. Friederike Otto. Visitors can also hear real reports of “eyewitnesses” that report their experiences with extreme weather. An interactive extreme weather globe that is supported by data series from the German Weather Service also offers a visual processing of the topic.

costs and challenges of implementation

The total cost of the exhibition amounts to 14.6 million euros, with the planning began in 2019 and the construction site was set up in spring 2022. Technical challenges caused delays. The exhibition is not only informative, but also represents an important step to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change and extreme weather.

The incident in Lütmarsen reflects how important it is to react and clarify to the increase in extreme weather events. The initiatives such as the exhibition coordinated in the Bremerhaven Klimahaus offer a valuable opportunity to focus on such topics in public and to clarify the measures to adapt to climate change. According to Westfalen-blatt.de , the associated long-term challenges could only be managed through joint efforts.

The event and the upcoming efforts to sensitize people to extreme weather have a special urgency. Experiences such as those of Mönnekes show that nobody is protected against the effects of nature and that education and education are essential to prepare the population as best as possible for such challenges.

In addition, the KlimaHaus-bremerhaven.de that can help to develop a better understanding of the dynamics and the consequences of extreme weather to promote the exchange about important environmental issues.