The new week also starts icy in Germany. In the early hours of the morning, the thermometer showed minus 8 degrees in Hanover, minus 6 degrees in Bremen and minus 5 degrees in Passau. The meteorologists of the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach had predicted that there could be severe frost regionally – most likely in southern Germany – with little cloud cover over snow. An exception are the coasts with temperatures around 0 degrees.
Be careful when driving in the morning rush hour. According to the DWD, little snowfall, freezing wet and frost are possible until the morning – so it could be smooth. In addition, there is dense fog in places, especially in the west and southwest, with visibility of less than 150 meters. Already on Sunday evening there was a car accident in Saxony in wintry road conditions. When two cars collided in the Zwickau district, four people were slightly injured, a police spokeswoman said.
In some places one to five centimeters of fresh snow
Until this morning, the DWD was expecting light snowfall or snow showers with one to five centimeters of fresh snow from eastern Bavaria across the eastern low mountain range to eastern western Pomerania. In the congested areas of the Erzgebirge and Zittau Mountains, up to ten centimeters could come together by this afternoon. In the course of the afternoon, no significant amounts of fresh snow are to be expected.
The forecast is for light to moderate permafrost throughout the day. Accordingly, only a few low-lying areas in western Germany and directly on the sea remain frost-free.
“It’s gotten cold. And it will remain cold for some time,” said DWD meteorologist Felix Dietzsch yesterday. “With a northerly to north-easterly flow, polar cold air has flowed to Germany and will remain with us in the coming week.” A “touch of mitigation” is not apparent until the middle of the week at the earliest.
The meteorologists are looking forward to Wednesday with excitement. Freezing rain could then hit some regions. Dietzsch explained that there was widespread precipitation in the southern half of Germany with a marginal low. According to this, the precipitation on the northern side of a forming air mass boundary usually falls as snow, according to the status yesterday, mainly between the Danube and Thuringia or Saxony. “South of there, the precipitation changes to rain. This could cause major problems in the form of freezing rain given the frosty history.”
First lift opens in the Upper Harz
Even stormy conditions due to black ice, especially from the Allgäu to southern Upper Bavaria, cannot be ruled out, Dietzsch reported yesterday. However, it is still too early for more precise information.
Those who don’t shy away from the cold could enjoy the good side of the winter weather on the third weekend in Advent. Winter sports fans were out and about not only in the Alps, but also in some low mountain ranges.
The first of four lifts was opened on the Sonnenberg in the Upper Harz Mountains. “We were surprised how many people have already accepted the offer and are very satisfied,” said operator Oliver Schmidt. In the meantime, cross-country ski trails have been groomed for the first time this season in the Thuringian Forest. Tobogganers, walkers and ice bathers also took advantage of the wintry weather in many places.
