Siemens’ lightning atlas: Speyer is Germany’s “lightning cap ... (2024)

“Germany, Central and Western Europe did not see much lightning activity in 2019 at all. We recorded a low number of thunderstorms and significantly fewer ground flashes,” said Stephan Thern, head of Siemens’ lightning information service. “It was simply too dry, and thunderstorms require heat and moisture. In 2019, there were 13 days with more than 10,000 lightning strikes in Germany. With a relatively small urban area such as that of Speyer, a few thunderstorms are enough for the final analysis to show a high lightning density,” the expert continued. “For the two northern cities in second and third place, Rostock and Lübeck, the proximity to the Baltic Sea probably plays a role.”

In 2019, themain months for thunderstorm activity were June and July. The highest number ofstrikes – 24,245 – was recorded on June 12, 2019. Mecklenburg-Western Pomeraniaand Brandenburg were the German states most affected, followed by Saxony. BLIDSdetected the highest number of measured ground flashes in a single German state– just under 8,500 – in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on June 12, followed byBavaria with 6,400 on July 10. Among the German states, Berlin took a clearlead with 2.2 flashes per square kilometer, followed by Mecklenburg-WesternPomerania with a flash density of 1.4, while the city states of Hamburg andBremen brought up the rear with only 0.5 flashes per square kilometer,respectively. Topping the list of state capitals was Potsdam (2.3), followed byBerlin and Munich (1.2). Saarbrücken (0.4) and Erfurt (fewer than 0.5) were thestate capitals with the lowest number of lightning strikes in 2019.

An average of0.9 lightning strikes per kilometer were registered in Germany in 2019. In2018, the figure was still 1.3. Compared to its neighbors, the country is inthe middle of the pack. Measured lightning densities across Europe range from 0.03(Ireland and Scotland) to highs of 8-10 in and around Trieste, a city in thetri-border region of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. In 2019, the countriesbordering the Adriatic Sea and the Italian Riviera were among the continent’smost active thunderstorm regions. Various lightning information serviceproviders in the individual countries contribute to the European results. “Theprovision of a hom*ogeneous, European measurement network – despite standardsthat differ from country to country – is the result of the excellentcooperation and coordination of the various weather and measurement services acrossEurope,” said Stephan Thern. “This network ensures that the measurement data providedto customers and users all has the same quality.”

Siemens’lightning information service uses around 160 connected measurement stations inEurope and supports the measurement network in Germany, Switzerland, the UnitedKingdom, the Benelux, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Due to thesystem’s precise measurement technology, its sensors can be set up withoutdifficulty at intervals of 350 kilometers, significantly reducing the cost of installation,operation and maintenance. “With the latest software, we can detect – to anaccuracy of 50 meters – where exactly lightning has just struck,” said StephanThern.

Since 1991, Siemens has been analyzing detected lightning strikes andimmediately sending warning notices to its thunderstorm alarm customers – toprotect people, technology and infrastructure. Customers of Siemens’ lightning information serviceare meteorological services, insurance providers, industrial companies across allsectors and power grid operators, (sport) facilities and, more recently, firedepartments. “BLIDS helps to determine whether a strike of lightning has causeddamage or a breakdown,” said Stephan Thern. Lightning strikes cause a greatdeal of damage to electrical appliances. The highly sensitive electronicsusually found in televisions, satellite receivers, washing machines andindustrial control systems, for example, can even be damaged if lightingstrikes a great distance away. Having proof of this results in a cost savingfor consumers and end users since lightning strikes are usually covered byinsurance.

Thanks toadvancing digitalization and the rapid increase in computing and storagecapacities, BLIDS enables data to be transmitted more precisely and at an increasinglyfaster rate – now less than ten seconds after a lightning strike. The lightninginformation service also provides cloud-based solutions to enable customers tohave lightning information on their computers and mobile devices.

This pressrelease and infographics are available at
www.siemens.com/presse/blids (German only)

Furtherinformation on BLIDS are available at
www.siemens.com/blids (German only)