I have been through minor and major earth quakes as well as typhoons in Japan, experienced hurricanes on the East Coast of the United States, so this Orkan warning (hurricane) for Germany did not really worry me, but only surprised me.

While I was talking to a childhood friend in Texas, she asked me if this was a new weather phenomenon for Germany. I’d guess so, as I cannot recall Orkan warnings while we were growing up.

So far in Germany, the damage level has been under control. 200 flights were canceled out of Frankfurt Airport, one of the most notorious Autobahns (A7) is closed to traffic, and some trains do not run.

France suffered a greater loss with 40 people getting killed and 800.000 homes left without electricity.

Around here, most people just cleared off their balconies and secured their odds and ends. The only thing is saw flying in the air was a humongous pumpkin, which turned out to be an ordinary orange blanket. But it had to get caught up in the trees first with its corners  spread out over the branches, 20 feet from the ground, before it took on its familiar form again.

The wind is still raging out there and the streets are deserted. The window frames quiver a bit with each gust of wind, but it is tolerable at home.

Hurricane warnings had been rare in Germany, so I wonder if we will see more of it.

El Niño (Translated: the prized child) and La Niña must be working overtime on El Niño Modoki, the newest weather pattern creation. Video on El Niño on National Geographic

Some photos of today’s minor hurricane in Germany on magazine.web.de

Tags: El Niño Modoki, Germany, hurricane, Orkan

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• Solar Minimum and Gray Skies
• Public Holidays in Germany
• Driving in Germany

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 10:45 pm and is filed under Germany. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.