Winter conditions in April: Snow, hail, black ice and heavy rain caused numerous accidents in traffic on Saturday. For this Sunday, the German Weather Service (DWD) announced heavy snowfall in the low mountain ranges – and also warned of black ice. In Bavaria in particular, there could be traffic disruptions and the risk of tree damage due to the high snow loads. In the Free State it could snow heavily in the morning, especially in the north and in the Alps, even down to lower altitudes.
In East Westphalia-Lippe, a number of trees snapped under the weight of snow on Sunday night. As the police reported, this created around 20 danger spots. Local fire brigade helpers removed the fallen trees and cleared the streets. In Extertal and Leopoldshöhe, drivers drove their vehicles off the road in snow and slippery conditions and ended up in a ditch. Nobody got hurt. In the early hours of the morning, several centimeters of snow had fallen in parts of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, and even ten centimeters in Horn-Bad Meinberg, a police spokesman said.
On Saturday morning there was a mass collision on Autobahn 70 in Upper Franconia near Glätte. 29 vehicles, including cars and a long-distance bus, were involved. 15 people were injured.
The DWD said that snow and slippery conditions can also be expected in Baden-Württemberg even at lower altitudes. According to the DWD, there will also be frost and slippery conditions in places in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in the early morning, as well as fresh snow in the mountainous region. The weather service also expected significant amounts of fresh snow in the Thuringian mountains. In Saxony, snowfall and slippery conditions can be expected in the Ore Mountains. In the mountains of Lower Saxony, the weather service predicted only light snowfall for Sunday. But things can also get slippery in deep areas. Where there is no snow, there could be rain or sleet showers and isolated thunderstorms.
A 65-year-old man was killed in an accident involving several cars near Ilmenau in Thuringia on Saturday morning in a sleet shower and temperatures just above 0 degrees. The police said he skidded his car. The car then crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a vehicle. Two other people were injured.
In the Zwickau district in Saxony on Saturday evening, briefly icy roads led to several accidents in which four people were injured. A police spokeswoman said the cars left the road and crashed into the guardrails due to snow, hail and heavy rain. One person was seriously injured on the A72 between the Zwickau-Ost and Hartenstein junctions. Three people were slightly injured in an accident involving two cars on the A4.
Four people, including two small children, were slightly injured in a road ice accident in East Hesse in the Fulda district. A 26-year-old drove his car off the slippery road in a curve on Saturday evening due to an incorrect driving speed, the police said. The car in which the children and a passenger were sitting drove across the oncoming lane and slid into a ditch, where it overturned.
In Saxony-Anhalt, there was an accident with seven injuries due to hail and icy conditions on the A36 in the Harz district. As the police announced, three drivers near Thale lost control of their vehicles due to a sudden hailstorm and a collision occurred. A 69-year-old passenger in one of the cars was seriously injured in the accident on Saturday afternoon. Six other passengers, including two children aged 8 and 12, were slightly injured.
Also on Saturday, the A8 south of the Bavarian capital Munich was completely closed for several hours due to a mass accident following lightning ice. According to police information, an accident involving eight vehicles occurred at midday due to weather conditions. Nobody was injured. The police estimated the damage at up to 250,000 euros.
