Record 36.2°C heat and violent storms disrupt Germany: motorways buckle, Cottbus festival paused, and 58 fire callouts in Brandenburg

Record-breaking heat

Germany sweated through its hottest day of the year on Friday. Cottbus in Brandenburg recorded 36.2°C, followed by Baruth (Mark) at 35.7°C, while Potsdam and Berlin-Tempelhof both reached 35.3°C. The DWD issued extreme heat warnings for parts of Brandenburg.

As Saturday began, the heat persisted, with the Lausitz region expected to again touch 35°C. DWD meteorologist Florian Engelmann warned that locally intense thunderstorms would develop in the afternoon and evening, particularly along the Oder and Neiße rivers, bringing gale-force gusts, hail, and torrential rain within short bursts.

But after 20 to 30 minutes the whole thing is over.

Thunderstorms hit Brandenburg

On Saturday afternoon, severe thunderstorms swept across southern and eastern Brandenburg. The regional control centre Lausitz reported 58 fire service callouts in the districts of Dahme-Spreewald, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Elbe-Elster, Spree-Neiße, and the city of Cottbus. Lightning strikes likely caused a barn fire in Großkrausnick and a grain field fire in Calau. No injuries were reported. Streets flooded and trees toppled, while heavy rainfall overwhelmed underpasses and event spaces.

Cottbus city festival halted

The storms struck Cottbus directly, forcing a suspension of the city's largest folk festival. A city spokesman confirmed that electricity and stage equipment had to be checked before performances could resume. Six stages were affected to varying degrees; those on grass absorbed so much water that draining proved difficult. The pause was expected to last until around 17:00.

Infrastructure meltdown

Extreme heat also wreaked havoc on transport networks. On Friday evening, the server supplying real-time data for Cologne's public transport operator KVB failed, blanking departure displays, the KVB app, and the website. On Saturday, heat-damaged road surfaces on the A1 motorway between Bargteheide and Bad Oldesloe in Schleswig-Holstein and on the A13 from Dresden toward Schönefelder Kreuz in southern Berlin caused long traffic jams.

It will get a notch more dangerous.

Outlook: Sunday brings heightened threat

The DWD warned that conditions will worsen on Sunday, the calendar start of summer. Severe thunderstorms are forecast to hit North Rhine-Westphalia, especially the Ruhr area, in the morning, before shifting to central Germany and later the southeastern states. In Brandenburg's southeast half, gale-force gusts may reach 100 km/h. The DWD cautioned that heavier rain and stronger winds than Saturday’s storms could overwhelm drainage systems again.