severe weather
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severe weather
Very bad, often dangerous weather with strong wind, rain, hail, or snow. It can cause damage to buildings and to nature.
Wegen des schweren Unwetters wurden alle Flüge gestrichen.
Because of the severe weather, all flights were canceled.
The word 'Unwetter' (severe weather) consists of the prefix 'un-' and the noun 'Wetter' (weather). The prefix 'un-' here expresses a negative or bad form of something, so literally 'bad weather'.
Die Meteorologen haben für heute Abend ein Unwetter vorhergesagt.
The meteorologists have forecast severe weather for this evening.
Common expressions are 'ein schweres Unwetter' (severe weather/a severe storm), 'ein Unwetter zieht auf' (severe weather is approaching), or 'vor einem Unwetter warnen' (to warn of severe weather). People also often speak of 'Schäden durch das Unwetter' (damage caused by the severe weather).
Der Wetterdienst warnt vor einem schweren Unwetter mit Hagel und Sturm.
The weather service is warning of severe weather with hail and storms.
To give the reason for something, 'Unwetter' (severe weather) is often used with 'wegen' and the genitive. To describe the time or circumstances, you use 'bei' with the dative.
Wegen des Unwetters ist der Strom ausgefallen.
Because of the severe weather, the power went out.
storm
'der Sturm' and 'das Unwetter' both belong to the area of bad weather. 'der Sturm' means especially strong wind. 'das Unwetter' is more general and describes very bad, often dangerous weather, for example with heavy rain, hail, snow, or a storm. So a storm can be part of severe weather. Learners easily confuse the words because both sound dangerous. If you specifically mean the wind, 'Sturm' is better. If you mean the whole bad weather situation with possible damage, 'Unwetter' sounds more natural.
Wegen des Unwetters fallen am Bahnhof viele Züge aus.
Because of the severe weather, many trains are canceled at the station.
In der Nacht hat der Sturm mehrere Äste auf die Straße geweht.
During the night, the storm blew several branches onto the road.