Storm damages 100 houses in Bohlingen as severe weather sweeps southwest Germany and Switzerland

Destruction in Singen-Bohlingen

Severe thunderstorms struck the Lake Constance district on Friday morning, focusing heavy damage on the Singen district of Bohlingen. Wind gusts tore off approximately 100 rooftops, leaving buildings exposed and felling trees across local roadways. Police responded by sealing off the entire village to outside traffic, allowing access only to residents and emergency responders. Officials issued alerts via mobile warning apps instructing the public to stay clear of trees, high-voltage power lines, and towers. One person sustained injuries in Bohlingen and was transported to a local clinic by emergency services. Incident commander Mario Dutzi described the impact as emergency crews prioritized tarping roofs ahead of incoming rain.

The district was hit by a very strong storm cell.

Regional transport and municipal disruption

The storm front caused widespread interruptions to rail and road transit across southern Germany and northern Switzerland. Between Singen and Schaffhausen, a regional train collided with a fallen tree on the tracks, prompting rail operators to establish replacement bus services. Another regional train near Oppenweiler was halted by fallen branches on open tracks, requiring emergency personnel to evacuate six passengers without reported injuries. In the same area, fallen trees struck the roof of an empty commercial building and obstructed Bundesstraße 14 toward Sulzbach an der Murr. Train service was also suspended between Überlingen-Therme and Uhldingen-Mühlhofen due to fallen trees, while Swiss rail between Biel and Olten and flight operations at Zurich Airport faced temporary disruptions. In Stuttgart, municipal fire crews handled approximately 40 callouts as heavy downpours forced up manhole covers and submerged city roadways.

Agricultural and property losses

Severe weather inflicted substantial financial damage on regional farms and community infrastructure throughout the Swabian Jura and Lake Constance regions. In Friedrichshafen, a storm cell devastated pear, plum, and apple crops on an orchard within minutes, producing losses estimated by the Knoblauch family in the five-figure range. Nearby in Singen Südstadt and Überlingen am Ried, emergency crews contained localized storm impacts. Across the Reutlingen district, emergency teams responded to flooded basements and submerged streets in Lichtenstein, Unterhausen, and St. Johann. In Sonnenbühl, municipal workers deployed snowplows to remove deep drifts of hail from public streets, while falling hail shattered windowpanes in Bad Urach. In Bohlingen, organizers were forced to cancel Friday evening's planned opening of the annual Sichelhenke folk festival.

The pears are right before harvest, and now they are all ruined.

Swiss cross-border impact and weather outlook

The weather system generated extreme conditions as it tracked from the Basel region toward Lake Constance. Swiss meteorological service SRF Meteo recorded approximately 46,000 lightning strikes during the storm passage, alongside two concentrated bands of heavy hail featuring stones up to six centimeters in diameter. In the canton of Schaffhausen, recorded wind gusts reached 142 kilometers per hour, while hail across Switzerland injured 40 people. Emergency services in the Konstanz police district logged roughly 120 storm-related incidents, while Bohlingen alone accumulated nearly 200 operational sites by Friday evening. The German Weather Service maintained red alert warnings for several districts in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, warning of gusts exceeding 120 kilometers per hour in southeastern Bavaria, before forecasting calmer weekend conditions with sunshine and temperatures up to 27 degrees Celsius in the south.