Stormy weather Will high winds chase away the parades?
Bonn · German weather service meteorologists are predicting gale-force winds for midday on Monday when all of the parades are getting underway. Will parades be cancelled?
In the days leading up to Karneval, it seems all the worries were about terrorism and assaults. Now it could be that weather will be the leading cause of concern on Monday, “Rosenmontag”. After a rather chilly and soggy start on Thursday, here comes the next piece of bad news: abundant rainfall and gale-force winds are expected on Monday, the big day for all of the local and city parades. Strong gusts are expected up to 100 kilometers per hour, level 10 on the wind scale.
Organizers of the Bonn parade want to wait until Sunday to get a more accurate weather forecast before they decide whether the parade has to be cancelled. Bonn Karneval Parade director, Axel Wolf told the General Anzeiger that according to their meteorologist, the weather looks like it will be windy on Monday, but not so strong that parades have to be cancelled.
However, security and safety of the visitors takes highest priority. If there is a danger of big tree branches breaking off or roof tops being affected, the parade would have to be cancelled. If wind gusts reach 103 to 117 kilometers per hour, an 11 on the wind scale, then all bets are off and the parade is cancelled.
Siegburg officials want to decide on Saturday if the parade there can take place or not. In Cologne, officials have not said anything at this point about cancelling their parade due to the adverse weather. The German weather service expects the maximum winds to be reached at midday, which is exactly around the time when many of the parades are starting.
In Düsseldorf, some officials are already very concerned about the situation and considering to cancel the “Rosenmontag” parade on Monday. According to their weather related security regulations, such an event cannot take place when wind gusts are level 8 or higher.
Wind gusts of 9 and 10 are expected. “When those high winds really hit, there will be no Rosenmontag parade” said Sven Gerling of the security and organization carnival committee in Düsseldorf. (Orig. text: Michael Wrobel/dpa)
