Sturm Zoltan: Chaos on streets and rails in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania!

In the night from January 6th to January 7th, 2025, a storm in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania caused considerable traffic problems. Rüczized trees required numerous operations from the fire brigade, which had to move out about 50 times in the Ludwigslust-Parchim and Northwest Mecklenburg districts. Bundes- and state roads were mainly affected, whereby no personal injury was reported.

Especially the rail traffic suffered from the effects of the storm. A tree fell on the tracks of the ICE route Hamburg-Berlin between Ludwigslust and Wittenberge, which led to a temporary blocking of the connection. This was released again at 11:30 p.m., but initially only one track could be used. Travelers had to expect delays. In addition, the ferry connection between Rostock and Gedser (Denmark) was temporarily interrupted due to strong gusts of wind. However, the company was resumed at 6 a.m. from Rostock and at 6:45 a.m. from Gedser.

episode of the storm "Zoltan"

The storm received the term "Zoltan" and had previously provided numerous fallen trees and traffic obstructions before Christmas in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The storm warning for hurricane -like gusts was lifted on Friday afternoon, but the conditions remained stormy. Despite the adverse weather conditions, the Rostock Christmas market was able to reopen on Thursday in the afternoon after an earlier closure. However, the traditional Christmas singing in the Rostock Ostseestadion was canceled.

The meteorological measurements showed maximum wind speeds of 125 km/h on the Greifswalder Oie. Further wind speeds of 119 km/h were registered at the Darßer place and 118 km/h at Cape Arkona. Deutsche Bahn continued to report problems with damaged overhead lines, especially on the RE5 route between Stralsund and Berlin, which led to train failures and delays. In Rostock, a tram had to be towed after overhead line damage, and replacement traffic was also set up here.

Fortunately, the police in Vorpommern-Greifswald reported three accidents caused by fallen trees without injuries. The district of Vorpommern-Rügen recorded around 290 storm-related missions by Friday afternoon, while more than 170 missions were reported in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district until Friday afternoon. Nordwestmecklenburg and the district of Rostock each reported 130 missions until Friday morning. The Interior Minister Christian Pegel thanked the emergency services for their tireless efforts during the storm.

The weather forecast again announced heavy gusts of wind in the coastal area for Saturday, but the wind speeds should take off in the afternoon and evening. Many clouds, short cheering, as well as local rain or snow racks and maximum temperatures of 3 to 5 degrees were expected for the region.