Rainstorms bring relief as Europe feels 1st summer heatwave
BERLIN (AP) - Thunderstorms brought a much-needed cooldown to parts of Western Europe over the weekend as the continent sweltered under its first summer heatwave.
Forecasters predicted further downpours Monday moving westward toward Poland, which has seen five days of unusually hot weather.
Germany's national weather service DWD said temperatures in the west and north of the country dropped from over 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) over the weekend to about 20 C (68 F) after a night of heavy rain.
In France, strong winds and tornados over the weekend caused some damage, including toppling a church spire in the village of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, southwest of Paris.
No serious injuries were reported as a result of the storms. But authorities in Germany say several people have drowned in recent days while seeking relief from the heat in pools, lakes and rivers.
Police in the Netherlands said two bodies were found in recent days at different locations in the Waal River, a branch of the Rhine, but provided no further details. Authorities in neighboring Germany have been searching for two girls, aged 13 and 14, who went missing while swimming in the Rhine near Duisburg last week. A third teen was pulled out of the river Wednesday but couldn't be resuscitated.
Lightning lights up the night sky In Neumarkt, Germany, Sunday, June 20, 2021. Heavy rains and thunderstorms have caused flooded cellars and streets as well as fallen trees and a variety of property damage in Central and Upper Franconia in the night to Monday. (Tobias Hartl/dpa via AP)
Police in Austria said a 26-year-old man died Sunday after jumping from a 40-meter (131-foot) cliff at the Wolfgangsee lake.
A cyclist and a passer-by with an umbrella cross a traffic light intersection during rainfall in Hamburg, Germany, Monday, June 21, 2021. (Georg Wendt/dpa via AP)
A boy plays in a fountain at VDNKh (The Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy) in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 20, 2021. The hot weather in Moscow is continuing, with temperatures forecast to reach over 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People cool themselves at a fountain "Friendship of Peoples" at VDNKh (The Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy) in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 20, 2021. The hot weather in Moscow is continuing, with temperatures forecast to reach over 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People enjoy the warm weather near a lake near Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, June 20, 2021. The hot weather continues in Lithuania as temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius (91,40 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
People enjoy the warm weather near a lake near Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, June 20, 2021. The hot weather continues in Lithuania as temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius (91,40 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Children cool off in a public fountain in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, June 19, 2021. The heat wave continues in Lithuania as temperature rose to as high as 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Clouds drift over a paddock with Icelandic horses in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, June 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
A man arranges beach chairs in the rain on the North Sea island of Sylt, Sundau, June 20, 2021. (Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa via AP)
