Violent storms buffeting western Germany on Friday (May 20) killed at least one man and injured some 40 people, 10 of them seriously, when an apparent tornado raked several towns, police and local media said.
Eyewitness video obtained by Reuters showed strong winds breaking trees during the severe storm in Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia, leaving behind fallen trees on vehicles and broken branches on roads. The German Weather Service did not immediately confirm if a tornado had occurred, though North Rhine-Westphalia police said in a statement on their website a “tornado cut a path of destruction” through Paderborn.
Police said up to 40 people had been injured in Paderborn, a town of some 150,000 half-way between Frankfurt and Hamburg. Rail and road transport were disrupted throughout the region.
The German Weather Service warned that the stormy weather was set to continue. Meteorologists said the extreme weather was caused by hot air coming from Africa meeting relatively cooler air moving down from northern Europe.
(Reuters)