Violent thunderstorms swept across parts of Germany and France this week, bringing torrential rain, giant hail, powerful wind gusts and frequent lightning that flooded streets, damaged infrastructure and disrupted travel. The outbreak comes as an unstable weather pattern develops across central Europe before another spell of intense summer heat returns.
Southern Germany experienced some of the most severe weather. Bavaria was hit by repeated thunderstorms Tuesday evening, with Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen receiving torrential rainfall that overwhelmed drainage systems and inundated roads, homes and businesses. Emergency services in Nuremberg handled more than 3,000 calls within five hours as floodwaters spread across the city.
Da waren heute ein paar starke Gewitter dabei:
— Manuel Oberhuber (@manu_oberhuber) July 14, 2026
– Weiße Landschaft durch Hagel in Wöllersdorf/NÖ
– 98 km/h Sturmböen in Bischofshofen/S und Wiener Neustadt/NÖ
– Überflutete A2 im Raum Leobersdorf/NÖ
🎥 Rainer Spenger pic.twitter.com/5vjjB1BEv7
The severe weather also disrupted air travel. Nuremberg Airport temporarily suspended operations while thunderstorms passed overhead, forcing several arriving aircraft to divert and delaying departures. Airport officials reported flooding, fallen trees and damage to buildings across the airport grounds.
🇨🇭 سويسرا | لوسيرن😳❄️
— طقس_العالم ⚡️ (@Arab_Storms) July 15, 2026
تساقطت حبات برد عملاقة خلال عاصفة رعدية عنيفة ضربت مدينة لوسيرن، حيث أظهرت المشاهد حبات برد ضخمة بحجم استثنائي، في واحدة من أقوى موجات البرد التي شهدتها المنطقة.
📹Insta : @unwetterjaeger#Switzerland #Lucerne #Hail #SevereWeather #Supercell pic.twitter.com/UeCKxjd8JD
The unsettled weather continued into Wednesday as another powerful supercell thunderstorm swept across Baden-Württemberg. Reutlingen was struck by large hail, torrential rain and flash flooding that buried roads beneath thick layers of ice, turning streets into white, slush-covered channels as emergency crews worked to clear debris and respond to damage. Around 6,000 households temporarily lost electricity after the storm damaged the local power network.
#Hagel #Reutlingen #Unwetter #videoviral #wetter pic.twitter.com/nA3Q6Ze7vm
— Täglicher Wahnsinn News (@royalsds) July 16, 2026
Lightning also remained a significant hazard. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, six soldiers were hospitalized after being struck by lightning during military activities in the Alps.
💨 Sturmböen und Hagel – dieses Unwetter hatte es in sich. ⛈️ Bleib bis zum Schluss dran, es lohnt sich! 👆 🧊 #Unwetter #Hagel #Sturm #Sommer2026 pic.twitter.com/giLocj36iy
— wetteronline.de (@WetterOnline) July 16, 2026
Across the border, severe thunderstorms battered several regions of France. Charente-Maritime, Ardèche and Côte-d’Or were among the hardest hit as intense hailstorms, heavy rainfall and damaging winds swept across the country despite an ongoing heatwave. Vineyards in Charente-Maritime suffered extensive damage after hailstones reportedly reached the size of ping-pong balls, while in Ardèche, hail measuring more than 5 cm (2 inches) shattered car windshields, damaged roofs and triggered more than 200 emergency calls. Around 600 homes also lost electricity after lightning and strong winds crossed the region.
The storms developed as a cold front advanced into an exceptionally warm, humid and unstable air mass that had built across central Europe during recent days. Strong daytime heating supplied abundant atmospheric energy, while increasing wind shear allowed several thunderstorms to organize into severe cells capable of producing very large hail, destructive wind gusts and torrential rainfall. Slow-moving storms further increased the flash flood risk by repeatedly tracking across the same areas.
Paris is currently being hit by a hailstorm.#orage #grele #Paris pic.twitter.com/xgpbMLYS1K
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) May 3, 2025
Forecasters say the severe weather threat is not over. Germany is expected to experience another active period of thunderstorms through Friday as the cold front continues eastward. Some storms could produce rainfall rates of around 30 mm (1.2 inches) in just one hour, hail up to 3 cm (1.2 inches) in diameter and wind gusts reaching 100 km/h (62 mph), especially across the southwest. By Friday, the threat is expected to expand farther north and east, where localized extreme rainfall could quickly trigger flash flooding.
Credit: Meteored/ ECMWF
France is also expected to remain under an active thunderstorm pattern through Thursday. Météo-France warns that a new line of severe storms could develop from the Pays de la Loire toward Burgundy and the northern Rhône-Alpes, while additional thunderstorms are forecast across Brittany, Gironde, the Pyrenees and southern France. The Loire department, including the Saint-Étienne area, has been placed under an Orange Thunderstorm Warning, with forecasters warning of hailstones between 2 and 5 cm (0.8 to 2 inches) in diameter, wind gusts up to 100 km/h (62 mph) and rainfall totals of 20 to 40 mm (0.8 to 1.6 inches). Under the most intense storm cells, as much as 20 mm (0.8 inches) of rain could fall in just 15 minutes, increasing the risk of flash flooding, rapid runoff and localized damage.
Conditions are forecast to improve over the weekend as cooler northwesterly air spreads across much of Germany, gradually ending the severe weather outbreak. Only isolated thunderstorms are expected to linger in eastern and southeastern areas before calmer conditions return early next week. However, meteorologists warn that another period of intense heat is likely to build across parts of southern Europe afterward, continuing a summer marked by rapid swings between oppressive heat and destructive thunderstorms.
