Europe has been hit by a barrage of severe weather, with tornados, flash floods, and winds reaching up to 95 mph causing widespread disruption in popular tourist areas across Spain, Italy, and France. The continent has experienced a summer of heatwaves and extreme weather, but recent days have seen particularly harsh conditions.
In Germany, the town of Fürstenwalde, located about 49 miles southeast of Berlin, experienced a tornado that damaged buildings and created chaotic scenes. Videos documented the tornado uprooting trees and sending debris airborne. One clip showed a car forced to stop as a roof collapsed onto the street, with subsequent footage revealing entire roofs strewn across the town.
Italy's Tuscany region recorded over 23,000 lightning strikes in one night, with more than 8,000 occurring within a two-hour span. This intense electrical activity left approximately 6,000 homes without power, 2,000 of which were in the city of Pistoia. Strong winds buffeted trees in Pistoia, and footage captured lightning striking repeatedly in rapid succession. The aftermath revealed significant damage to structures and uprooted trees.
In Pisa, wind speeds reached 66 mph, while the provinces of Massa Carrara, Lucca, and Grosseto received up to 70 mm of rain in a 12-hour period. In Spain, the town of Jumilla in the Murcia region experienced heavy rain and strong winds, with streets transforming into rivers carrying dirt and debris. One video depicted plastic chairs being swept down the street by the rain.
Wind speeds in Spain reached as high as 95 mph. Storm alerts remain in effect across France, with forecasters predicting continued adverse weather, including up to 130 mm of rain, hail, lightning, and strong winds, through the weekend. Three French departments—Ardèche, Drôme, and Isère—were placed on heightened alert for stormy conditions.
Meanwhile, Serbia has turned to Russia for assistance in combating wildfires due to a shortage of firefighting aircraft within the European Union. A Russian Emergencies Ministry firefighting plane landed in the southern city of Nis and was deployed to tackle a wildfire in the Deliblatska Pescara natural protected reserve. Although Serbia is not an EU member, it can access emergency aid through the bloc's Civil Protection Mechanism. The Serbian Interior Ministry stated that the Russian aircraft would significantly enhance their firefighting capabilities.
A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that Europe was prepared to assist Serbia and reiterated that 'business as usual' with Russia is not possible amid its ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Russian planes are generally prohibited from flying over EU airspace due to sanctions, but humanitarian aid flights are exempt. The Russian plane's transit through Bulgarian airspace, an EU and NATO member, followed a request from Belgrade, highlighting Serbia's diplomatic balancing act between Russia and the EU.