Storm Joshua: Hurricane gusts and storm surges expected on the North Sea coast!

Storm Joshua: Hurricane gusts and storm surges expected on the North Sea coast!

The storm “Joshua” currently has northern Germany firmly in its grip and is causing stormy weather on the North Sea coast. The first police and fire brigade operations were reported today, especially in Lower Saxony, where a tree fell on the A28 motorway near Bad Zwischenahn. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the incident led to short-term closures, but without any significant traffic impact due to the small number of vehicles. Smaller incidents were also reported in Osnabrück in which emergency services cleared branches from the road. Sat.1 Regional reports that parts of the promenade and a parking lot in Wilhelmshaven were flooded by the North Sea.

The situation is serious, and the police in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania hardly reported any weather-related operations overnight. However, officials expect more challenges as the situation worsens late this morning, while the German Weather Service (DWD) warns of massive storms on the coast of Lower Saxony and in Schleswig-Holstein.

Severe weather warnings and storm speeds

Wind speeds of between 105 and 120 km/h are currently expected. In the interior of Schleswig-Holstein and on the Baltic Sea there may initially be wind gusts of up to 60 km/h, later even up to 80 km/h. For the Bay of Lübeck to Rügen, gusts of up to 80 km/h are possible locally. A storm surge is also expected on the Elbe and North Sea coast in the afternoon. Towards the evening it is estimated that the wind will gradually decrease again, but the situation remains tense. Tagesschau informs that the official severe weather warning is valid until the evening and could particularly affect the North Sea coast, including the East Frisian and North Frisian Islands.

In this challenging situation, the fire department in the Cloppenburg district, for example, is planning to use a crane to remove the tree that fell on a house. Ferry traffic is also affected: connections to and from the island of Norderney will be canceled at least until midday today, and some trips to the East Frisian Islands had to be canceled. Some railway lines are particularly affected, such as the Hanover-Kassel-Frankfurt connection, where impairments have already been reported.

A look at the climate challenges

As climate researchers are increasingly emphasizing, the effects of climate change are infecting us with increasingly extreme weather phenomena. Studies show that extraordinary weather events such as heat waves and heavy rain are increasing due to global warming, which often leads to flooding. Thomas Stocker, a renowned climate researcher, highlights that these extreme weather events will occur more frequently in the future if we do not limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius. Especially in autumn, when it is storm season, these changes represent a challenge for coastal protection Geo.

The current circumstances that “Joshua” brings us are part of a larger picture that poses the question of how to adapt to such extreme events. In the coming years we will have to prepare for more storms, floods and heat waves if we do not work together to slow down climate change.