Gloomy forecasts

Searching for clues with the “storm hunter”

Alois Holzer shows models of the largest hailstones that fell from the sky.

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

From Wiener Neustadt, researchers are keeping an eye on severe weather in Europe. Their forecast: more hail and another tornado. The "Krone" goes in search of clues with the "storm hunter" and looks back on the country's biggest storm disaster with 34 fatalities.

"And now to the weather - in southern Lower Austria, you have to expect strong gusts of wind again." Weather reports like this are becoming more frequent. It feels like the wind is always blowing here. But is that true? Alois Holzer, head of the European Institute for Severe Weather Research (ESSL) in Wiener Neustadt, answers this question. And he says: "The last hot storm phase was around 1990, in between it was a bit quieter. The wind has been picking up again since around 2015." However, these are large-scale fluctuations in weather conditions that have nothing to do with climate change. "It's a natural process that goes up and down again and again," emphasizes the experienced meteorologist.