After storm Zoltan
Heavy rain, snow and floods before Christmas – Bahn expects full trains
Storm “Zoltan” caused strong gusts over the past two days. There were also floods in places like Hanover and the North Sea coast
© Ole Spata / DPA
The storm has weakened, but a lot of rain and snow is expected in parts of Germany over the weekend. Some people warn of floods. Train travelers have to be prepared for full trains.
After the storm “Zoltan” passed over Germany, regional storms will occur in Germany on Saturday Rain or snow expected. The authorities are warning of major floods for parts of Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria. Fresh snow is expected from the Thuringian Forest to the Bavarian Forest at levels above 600 to 800 meters, as the German Weather Service (DWD) announced on Saturday morning.
Railway has removed most of the damage from storm “Zoltan”.
Deutsche Bahn says it has largely repaired the storm damage. “Regional traffic is running as scheduled again and long-distance traffic is returning to normal,” said a railway spokesman on Saturday morning. However, due to the upcoming holidays, long-distance trains are very busy.
Northern Germany
Fish market under water, tornado in Cologne, chaos in train stations – storm “Zoltan” in pictures
According to the DWD report, heavy amounts of snow can be expected in a short period of time in the Erzgebirge on Saturday. As a result, trees threatened to fall over and branches break off. Until Saturday morning, slippery conditions due to slush are possible from the east of Schleswig-Holstein and eastern Lower Saxony to Lusatia.
As a result of the continuous rain, precipitation of 60 to 90 liters per square meter can be expected in 48 to 72 hours in many places, the DWD said. Storms with 90 to 120 liters per square meter are also forecast for some regions. In the eastern low mountain ranges, precipitation is expected to increasingly turn into rain from Saturday evening and a thaw will set in.
On Friday, the storm “Zoltan” passed over Germany and significantly hindered traffic on roads and railways. Train travelers in particular had to be patient, some ferries in the north were not running, and the subways in Hamburg, for example, were slower. There were slippery accidents on the roads in Lower Saxony, and the DWD is investigating a suspected tornado in Cologne. There were deaths from the storm in the Netherlands and Belgium. The severe storm surge in Hamburg exceeded its peak late on Friday morning.