August 16-18: More Dramatic Skies

Is this the end of summer? After Ex-hurricane Bertha ended the hot temperatures in Germany and left tourists at the Northern Sea Beaches somewhat frustrated there are reports from Germany that migration birds already packing their suitcases for their journey to the South. Another storm arrived at the shores and weather in the Berlin region is also getting colder and there are still many showers. It’s indeed a bit unusual for August to have that kind of typical autumn weather in the middle of the month. However there were more interesting clouds in the sky on Saturday and after a cold front passed over Berlin on Monday a shower cloud was illuminated in golden colors in the evening.

August 11-13, 2014: Endless Series Of Thunderstorms In Sylt And Along Danish Border After Ex-Hurricane Bertha Hit.

Strange cloud patterns in the sky heralded the arrival of “Bertha” on Saturday, August 10, in the afternoon:

Ex-hurricane Bertha, a huge low pressure system, which did severe damage in the UK and Ireland, led also to extreme weather patterns in some areas in the Northern Sea region. There were already strong showers on Saturday. On Monday, August 11, strong winds hit the coastline. Huge waves could be seen in Westerland, the main city of the island of Sylt. The red flag was up, warning tourists to not go swimming in the rough Northern Sea. An older tourist spoke to me when I visited the island on Thursday, August 12, that he had seen never before anything like this in the summer during his 13 stays on the island.

In the border region between Germany and Denmark there were further unexpected and unusual phenomena: around 9.00pm was sheet lightning to be seen from Flensburg on the Eastern side. The sheet lightning lasted very long before the storm approached the Baltic-Sea side of Schleswsig-Holstein in the night.

Through the night there was thunderstorm after thunderstorm. And that weather did not stop the following day. Like on a chain a series of thunderstorms passed over Northern Schleswig Holstein from the west to the east and appeared more like one big cluster.

On the island of Sylt August 12 was a really strange day. I arrived shortly after midday and walked to the shoreline to shoot some pictures of this extraordinary weather.

The sky looked like as being in the middle of a tropical storm. On the land side there was a closed sheet of clouds and it was dark and it rained. On the island however blue sky could be seen between towering shower and thunderstorm clouds over the sea when looking westwards. Shower after shower came down, and thunder was rumbling all the time. It felt like being in a thunderstorm which never stops. It calmed a bit down in the late afternoon but in the evening of August 12 there were still showers and thunderstorms. This weather was similar like the tropical weeks in Berlin and Eastern Germany the weeks before.

Scientists say that these weather patterns in the summer are indeed far from normal, and that extreme weather becoming more common. The Guardian reported that scientists in Potsdam published a new study like their colleagues in the UK during England’s wettest winter in 250 years. The new study says, “that since 2000, there have been an exceptional number of summer weather extremes, causing massive damage to society”. There are still no perfect explanations but the scientists observe more and more so-called “blocking patterns” with hot or wet weather zones remaining stuck over regions for weeks, the Guardian writes. Jet streams are behaving differently as before. The blocking patterns occur when meanders of the high-level jet stream slow down and this happens more frequently.
It’s too early to make predictions about the future and there might be still a factor involved that increased interest in weather phenomena lead also to more observations of extreme patterns but scientists agree that there are more extremes.
This observation is backed up insurances, police and fire brigades. Brandenburg fire brigades around Berlin had much more work over the last weeks due to an increased number of torrential rain, severe thunderstorms and storms. Insurances estimate cost of damage including autumn/winter storms over 260 Mio Euros. Recently, there is a huge and cost intensive damage in forests where lot of trees were felt by storms Landslides are also an increasing risk. A few days ago a landslide stopped traffic for hours on the A9 motorway between Berlin and Leipzig, which is very unusual in the mostly flat area. The recent scientific studies therefore explain what was speculation and sometimes more a feeling than a precise observation: For more than a decade now our weather is significantly different as in the past, unusual phenomena are more often and patterns are becoming more extreme.

Thunder Clouds In The Evening Sky – Berlin, August 2, 2014

Early August and Berlin still feels like some equatorial town in the South-American rainforest. Humidity was still high on the weekend, August 2-3 and temperatures were rising over 30 Celsius. In the evening of August 2 a thunderstorm crossed the South-West of Berlin. It didn’t do any damage but the thunderclouds were a beautiful sight.

The clouds were coming from the east and the sun was still shining in the west, which led to very interesting details and colours. The thunderstorm lasted not very long and later in the west there was some sheet-lightning.

Even the typical pine trees of the North-East regain doesn’t look very much like a rain forest the giant clouds in the evening sky might help to understand the “tropical feelings” Berliner’s are getting these days during an extraordinary hot summer.

The Destructive Side Of Nature – Landslides In The Bode Valley

The Bode Valley near Thale in the German Harz Mountains is famous for its prominent visitors like Johann Wolfgang Goethe. It’s the sometimes called “German Grand Canyon” due to it’s unparalleled wilderness. At Goethe’s times there wasn’t a trail leading through the whole valley. Therfore he could only have a glimpse into the steep and dangerous terrain. What he saw might have triggered his imagination for writing his famous “Faust”. Sharp rocks, primeval forest, a wild river, dark holes of little caves and unpredictable weather. Close to the Bode valley is the notorious “Hexentanzplatz.” perhaps a former cultsite situated on a cliff high above the valley. On the other side is another rock, which is an old pagan cult site, the “Rosstrappe”.

Even today with the river Bode tamed and hundreds of tourists walking through every day its a place of both extraordinary beauty and an intimidating and dangerous wilderness.

However over the last years the terrain seems to really show the destrutive side of nature: 2010 a landslide buried the trail, which leads from the valley to the well known Rosstrappe view-point. And over the last seasons a lot is happening on the other side of the river.

Authorities are already thinking about closing the popular trail because they are afraid hikers could be in danger due to the landslides and the imminent danger of falling rocks as a local from the city Thale told me.

On July 27, I took a hike through this wilderness and made as much pictures as possible since I do not know when the chances to go there are gone.

It was a warm and humid day and the first thing you feel when you enter the Bode valley from the upper side from the village of Tresenburg is that it’s suddenly getting colder and more humid. The valley literally has a climate of its own. It’s like entering a cellar.

The moisture is everywhere, in some places water is pouring directly out of the rocks. Further down you feel that you become a witness of a war of the elements. Stones have damaged trees, trees are sometimes felt and shooting down into the abyss. It’s becoming more and more an awe inspiring area.

The question is what’s going on beyond the normal change and the given instability of the rock face?

First of all we need to keep in mind that erosion is a normal process in these mountains. Compared to the alps the Harz region is a very old mountain region. You can find everywhere fields of huge blocks of rock. Actually these mountains are shrinking.

However something seems to happen.

It’s worth to mention that mudslides and landslides are more often reported over the last years in Europe. Last year a tragic accident happened on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea when one of famous white chalk rocks crashed down. We hear every year from many mudslides coming down in the alpine regions. Getting closer to Thale on the trail, which is going up and down in the valley you get the impression that parts of the rockface collapsed and any time more debris might come down. Big stones in the middle of the path are visible reminders of the warning sign when you enter the valley.

There might be several reasions involved for the increasing instability inside the valley as in some other areas. Of course climate change might be worth to consider if we think of the usual suspects. In the alps we know about the problems when the so-called permafrost is melting away, which keeps the rocks together. When temperatures rise the structure becomes less solid. The key role of water might be important when we think of the increasing number of heavy rainfall during summer. On the other side we have seen long dry periods and some very cold winters.All these factors might put the mountain under a bigger stress – it’s up to the scientists to come up with answers what’s really going on here.

We can only hope that we can still enjoy the wild beauty of the Bode Valley in the Harz Mountains also in the future.

Not far from the beginning of the trail a tree destroyed the protection rail and hit a hole in the middle of the way.

Further down a huge landslide must have happened. The trail crosses a field of stones. It’s remarkable how some trees survived the event.
Not far away, big trees have coming down and creating the image of a battle zone of mythical giants. Wild weather with severe storms happens a lot in the Harz Mountains. The so-called “Walpurgis Night”, the witches sabbat, might have been inspired by extreme weather conditions.

If you hear something you better be fast. This one is not the only big stone which hit the trail.

Nevertheless it’s the stunning beauty of the Bode valley which lasts in the memory. If you are careful and follow some rules (don’t leave the trail and watch your steps – you might endanger other hikers otherwise) and the advice of the mountain rescue service the Harz Mountain’s are one of Germany’s most fantastic areas for a trip or vacation. It’s situated in the middle of the country and can be easily reached both from Berlin and Hamburg. On weekends there is a direct-train from Berlin Central to Thale and to Werningerode, where the steam train leaves for the Brocken-Mountain.