Welcome to Tornadoropa : Here you find a Photography Gallery about Storm and Severe Weather including Tornadoes ( Tornados ), non-tropical cyclones etc. presented by Christian Neumann .

Introduction : Why " severe weather " in Germany? Of course, the weather in Central Europe is not comparable to that of the notorious " Tornado Alley " of the American midwest, although supercell thunderstorms and tornados DO occur. However, due to the local orography and the moderate climate influenced by the compensating water masses of the North Sea and the Atlantic, severe weather hazards are more or less uncommon events. Especially because of their rarity, severe weather events are an underestimated threat and cause fatalities every year.

Snow and ice : Heavy snowfall, ice storms and " Blitzeis " can offer serious threats, e.g. in the legendary snow winter of 1978/79 (also known as the " Schneekatastrophe ") when a blizzard swept over England, the Netherlands and northern Germany. Many farms and smaller villages where isolated for several days. In November 2005, freezing rain and snow led to the breakdown of the electricity supply system in large parts of the Münsterland (western Germany), causing chaos and leaving numerous households without electricity for days. Heavy snowfall in November 2006 led to the collapse of the roof of a sports complex in Bad Reichenhall, causing the death of 15 people.

Non-tropical cyclones, also called " Orkan " occur most frequently during the autumn and winter months. Cyclones cause a serious threat to people, buildings, farming, and forestry. The most severe storms of the last years were LOTHAR (December 26, 1999 which killed 27 people in Switzerland and southern Germany and caused a damage of 6 billion USD alone in Switzerland), and Kyrill (January 18, 2007, 13 fatalities and 1 Billion Euro damage in Germany). The areas facing the coastline of the North Sea and the large river estuaries are vulnerable to catastrophic flooding events (" Sturmfluten ") related to north-western storms. The last flooding catastrophe at the north Sea coast happened in February 1962 when numerous dikes broke and floods killed 315 people in Hamburg.

River floods. Heavy rain during the summer months caused by depths which originate over the Adriatic Sea ( Mediterranean ) may migrate northward (so called " Vb Zugstraßen ") and cause heavy and long enduring rainfall in Czech Republic, Poland and eastern Germany. These rainfalls can lead to severe flooding in the drainage systems of the Odra River (flood of August 1997, 114 fatalities, most of them in Poland) and Elbe River (flood of August 2002, no fatalities, 15 Billion Euro damage in Germany).

Heat waves and droughts as the one in August 2003 are interpreted as a sign of global warming and are expected to occur more frequently in the future. The heat wave of 2003 (maximum temperature: 47.3°C) has been made responsible for the death of more than 70.000 people, most of them in France and southern Europe.

Weather hazards related to convective events are mostly restricted to thunderstorms and act more locally, but are not less dangerous. Thunderstorms can be expected all over the year, but occur most frequently in the summer months (May-September). Large thunderstorm systems which are related to squall lines, cold fronts etc. may cause torrential rain, local flash floods and large hail (e.g., the legendary " Jahrhunderthagel " of Munich, July 12, 1984). A Derecho hit Berlin in the afternoon of July 10, 2002 and killed 7 people. Tornados and waterspouts can be observed every year but are generally weak (F0 to F1 on the Fujita scale). However, an F4 Tornado hit Pforzheim on July 10, 2007 and killed 2 people and injured more than 200.