Rain Clouds From The East, Berlin, May 17, 2014

Last week a low pressure system with lots of rain led to a terrible flood in South-East Europa affecting mostly Serbia and Bosnia. Even there weren’t any extreme weather patterns in Middle-Europe on Saturday, May 17, the effects of the huge weather system over Europe could be seen in Berlin. Unlike most of the time when winds come from West or the Northwest this day dark clouds could be seen approaching from East /North-East.  Berlin is situated in between the continental climate zone and the more humid atlantic climate. Clouds travel most of the time from the west towards the east. This time the clouds and the rain approached from the East, coming from Poland. The clouds on the pictures and the time-lapse film led to an interesting effect when they got illuminated from beneath after 6.00 pm. It was still dry most of the time on Saturday in Berlin. On Sunday it was raining for most of the day.

An interesting thing happened after the rain ceased on Sunday afternoon. Very deep hanging clouds followed the rain and in the late afternoon the upper part of the famous “Fernsehturm” disappeared in the mist.

A Spring Day With Rain and Showers, May 11, 2014

Low Pressure Systems led to cooler temperatures and some showers in North-East Germany over the second weekend of May. Nevertheless it was a good day to go out and to enjoy the season. Here in the touristic region  of the Uckermark, which is approximately 80 kilometers from Berlin the landscape blooms with the spring colors of yellow rape fields and the fresh green of the trees. On Sunday the wind picked up and it was raining from time to time as well as the sun bathed the landscape in bright light for some moments. Unlike Friday night where in the west of middle Europe severe lightning storms created some damage around Bremen, on this day there weren’t extraordinary weather patterns in this part of the country. It’s even a very normal thing in middle Europe that you have some colder days with rain in May, which is usually much more wet as April. Farmers and foresters are happy to get some rain since the last months had been much too dry. And the fast moving clouds created interesting contrasts for photography. Maybe some painters also enjoyed the day for its intense colors created by the weather.

Sahara Dust Reaches Berlin, April 4, 2014

The big cloud of Sahara dust over Europe and the UK reached North-East Germany during the first days of April. It created a milky and unusual sky over Berlin. Air pollution was high but not as dramatic as in London or in Paris. Interestingly the big cloud of dust made weather more unpredictable and led to many changes in the weather forecast and development of weather patterns. The sun could be only seen between a veil of clouds and slight rain appeared on Friday evening.  On Saturday it was much more cloudy as predicted. Temperatures were lower beneath this thick sheet of dust and clouds in the sky. “Wetteronline”, a big weather page in Germany, said that Sahara dust is not yet integrated in weather predicting models. It’s important for the future to do further investigations about potential weather and climate changing effects of these huge dust clouds in the atmosphere. Different opinions were also issued about potential health problems caused by the dust and air pollution. It’s certainly a problem for people who have already health problems. In a BBC news report it was said that people should avoid exhausting activities outside.

The phenomena of Sahara dust over Europe is not so unusual and well known. A few years ago the phenomenon was so intense in Bavaria and in the Alps that it created a “Martian Sky” with real red colors.  I still remember the unusual light Sahara sand in the atmosphere can create. It’s more like being in a sound stage with artificial light and gave me an eery feeling. There is also a German word when Sahara dust makes the snow red. It’s called “Blutschnee”. In medieval times people were afraid of this phenomenon.  Today it cost me and many other people ten Euros for a car wash: On Saturday morning my car looked like I had done an expedition through Saudi-Arabia the previous night.

The question remains if such a big and long lasting cloud could be seen as something normal or does it fit in the series of strange events like the flood and many severe storms in the UK this winter.

The pictures were taken in the late afternoon and early evening of Thursday, April 2, 2014 around Brandenburger Tor in Berlin. At 7.00 pm it was already darker as usual. The cloud of dust was still there on Saturday, April 4 but then heading to the Northeast.