Wetter: Warum es in diesem Jahr weniger Tornados gab
2026 zählte der DWD bisher 31 Tornados. Das waren weniger als im Durchschnitt der Vorjahre. Die Experten wissen auch, woran das lag.
In 2026, Germany experienced fewer tornadoes than usual, with the Deutsche Wetterdienst (DWD) recording only 31 tornadoes by the end of September. This is significantly lower than the average yearly figure of 49 tornadoes confirmed in Germany. Marcus Beyer, a tornado expert from the DWD, explained that the lack of suitable weather conditions for tornado formation was the primary reason.
Tornadoes require warm, humid air at the ground, cold air aloft, and a phenomenon known as wind shear, where winds increase in speed and direction with height.
The years with the fewest tornadoes in Germany all had a common factor: a severe drought. The main tornado activity months in Germany, according to the DWD, are May through September, after which they become less frequent. Niedersachsen recorded the most tornadoes in 2026, totaling nine, followed by Hessen with eight. Schleswig-Holstein, Rheinland-Pfalz, and Thüringen each had three, while Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen, Baden-Württemberg, and Sachsen-Anhalt each had one tornado. Bayern and Saarland had no tornadoes confirmed for that year.
An unusual occurrence in 2026 was the 17 tornadoes that happened on a single day, August 19. The first tornado of the year occurred on June 3 near Borkum, known as a water hose tornado, which forms over water. The most photogenic of these tornadoes was the one on July 1 at Lake Constance, which Beyer described as "unusually photogenic." On July 26, a single thunderstorm cell produced three tornadoes near Cuxhaven.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
