Fallen trees, collapsed houses and cars lying on their backs: the tornado in Paderborn alone left a path of devastation and 43 injured last Friday.

Several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia share this fate.

There are now new warnings for Hesse and NRW for Monday afternoon, as announced by the German Weather Services (DWD).

These weather conditions are not really surprising – at least not for meteorologists.

Because even if many people tend to attribute pictures of raging tornadoes to the USA, they also appear in Germany.

According to Andreas Friedrich, DWD Tornado Commissioner, there are between 20 and 80 tornadoes in Germany every year, the intensity of which is comparable to that in the USA.

Although certain conditions such as a low cloud base and wind shear must be met, there is no exception to the weather pattern.

The different perceptions can probably be explained by the fact that tornadoes occur about ten times more often in the USA than in Germany.

The basement as a shelter

For Monday afternoon, the DWD expects severe storms again, and more tornadoes are also possible.

And although it is no exception: you should definitely ensure good protection.

"That's what's special about this case, it's really about bare survival," says Friedrich.

Protection against tornadoes, however, looks completely different than what we are used to from regular thunderstorms.

"Cars that are otherwise protected against lightning become deadly traps in a tornado," says the expert.

They could easily be tossed through the air or crushed by trees.

Even houses are not automatically safe.

"Only the basement offers real protection," explains Friedrich.

If you don't have a basement, you should retreat to a room that is as low as possible and has no windows or doors to the outside.

If you are still outdoors, you should keep an eye on your surroundings.

The cloud trunk typical of tornadoes and its direction of movement are usually easily recognizable.

Due to the rather small diameter and the rather slow movement, avoidance is often still possible.

If you still don't make it into a building in time, you should stay away from trees and house walls, because their protection is deceptive.

The risk of loose parts is too great here.

"Find open space and lie flat on the ground, preferably in a hollow," advises Friedrich.

It remains to be seen whether tornadoes will actually occur again.

The weather should calm down again by Tuesday night at the latest.

Then only showers are to be expected.