Germany faces hot and stormy weekend

The mercury is set to soar this weekend in Germany, as shifting high pressure system “Otto” brings high temperatures and occasionally heavy thunderstorms to much of the country.

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With “Otto” parked over Scandinavia, the hot and stormy mass of air just below the pressure system will slide further to Germany’s northeast, according to meteorologist Stefan Eisenbach from Meteomedia.

The German Weather Service said the location of thunderstorms would be difficult to pin in coming days, but they could be as severe as the one that hit northern Hesse on Wednesday night that brought so much hail it had to be cleared by snowploughs.

Friday will begin with sunny and dry weather throughout much of Germany, but heavy thunderstorms will hit the western part of the country by afternoon. Although cooler in the west and along the coast, temperatures will generally range from 25 to 31 degree Celsius.

The mercury will climb on Saturday with summer temperatures up to 33 degrees expected in the northeast – making Germany hotter than Spain but still cooler than the record heat currently hitting much of southeastern Europe.

The stormy weather in the southwest will keep things cooler at 20 to 26 degrees. But even the thunderstorms there will occasionally give way to the sunshine that will dominate across much of the northern coast and eastern part of the country. Strong gusts might accompany the thunderstorms, but the wind will otherwise be calmer than on Friday.

Germany will continue to roast on Sunday, with temperatures near 30 in much of the country. The northeast will once again be the sunniest region, but scattered showers can still occur throughout the day.

Click here for The Local's German weather service.