Essen (dpa / lnw) - At the beginning of the week, people in North Rhine-Westphalia have to prepare for a short but intense episode of heat. On Monday, highs of between 31 and 36 degrees should already be reached, as the German Weather Service (DWD) announced in Essen in the morning. Tuesday will probably be the hottest day of the week: then maximum temperatures of up to 39 degrees are possible, on the Lower Rhine 40 degrees can also be reached locally. In addition, it will be sunny on Monday and Tuesday.
The weather service set the forest fire risk index for parts of the Rhineland to the highest level 5 on Tuesday. There is a "very high" risk of forest fires there. Level 4 applies to the other regions in NRW, i.e. a “high” risk.
According to the DWD forecast, there will be some dense clouds on Wednesday night. The first showers and thunderstorms are possible west of the Rhine. Temperatures between 28 and 35 degrees will be reached on Wednesday and it will remain mostly cloudy. More showers and thunderstorms are expected locally. Temperatures are expected to drop to between 24 and 27 degrees on Thursday.
