Tornado in East Frisia: "It's catastrophic"

According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the violent storm, which caused severe damage in the community of Großheide in East Frisia, was a tornado.

"On the basis of eyewitnesses and video material, one can clearly say it was a tornado last night," said DWD's tornado expert Andreas Friedrich on Tuesday.

The cyclone was classified as a moderate tornado of class F2, with estimated rotational speeds between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour.

According to estimates, the diameter of the tornado was between several dozen and 100 meters.

The tornado hit the community of Großheide in the Aurich district on Monday evening.

Nobody got hurt.

According to the fire department, around fifty buildings were damaged.

The weather website Tornadoliste.de, for example, had already classified the storm as a tornado on Monday evening.

The DWD evaluates video material, damage images and eyewitness reports for the examination, explained Friedrich.

The tornado was a so-called cold air tornado, probably without a super cell.

"These are tornadoes that form in cold air, as it was yesterday over northern Germany," said Friedrich.

The cause is pronounced wind shear - i.e. different wind speeds and wind directions on the ground and at a height of one kilometer.

In this structure, a rotating movement is created in the actual cloud, which grows downwards and then looks like a trunk.

Every year, an average of 20 to 60 tornadoes are detected in Germany.

But there is an unreported number because some of the tornadoes are not recorded.

Moderately severe tornadoes of strength F2, as now found in Großheide, are comparatively rare in Germany, explained Friedrich.

Meanwhile, the clean-up work in Großheide started on Tuesday. The willingness to help in the population is great, said mayor Fredy Fischer. "There were a lot of people who wanted to help." Roofers and construction companies are in the process of repairing damaged houses. Employees from the construction yards moved out to clear up fallen trees. On Tuesday night, around 100 firefighters had already started to repair the first storm damage and to temporarily secure buildings. However, some houses can no longer be repaired. "It's catastrophic," said Fischer.