On the map with which the German Weather Service (DWD) Illustrating the current severe weather warnings, large parts of southern Germany are colored red: Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony almost completely, plus the southern regions Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia. There is a great risk of slippery roads everywhere. An area that includes the northern Saarland, the Eifel and the Hunsrück as well as that Rhine Main Area includes, is even colored purple. In this case, this represents an extreme risk of slippery conditions.
North of the area where the freezing rain is falling, snow will fall in many places, for example in parts Hesse and in the north Franconiain pieces North Rhine-Westphalia as well as in Berlin and Brandenburg. Locally, especially in the low mountain ranges, there should be 30 to 40 centimeters.
The DWD meteorologists had already warned of a “full-blown storm situation” that would have “large-scale effects” on traffic. There will also be “extreme ice build-up on objects, trees and overhead lines” as well as an “increased risk of ice breaking”. Staying outdoors and traveling should be avoided at all costs. It becomes dangerous everywhere south of a Düsseldorf – Dresden line, as can be seen from the weather service map.
The situation is now calming down in many places. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, the German Weather Service (DWD) lifted the severe weather warning on Wednesday evening. As the day progressed, black ice, freezing rain and snow caused major problems in the affected regions. Here is an overview of the current reports.
Air traffic
Hundreds of flights had to be canceled at Germany’s two largest airports due to the icy weather. The Munich Airport has canceled more than 250 of around 650 planned take-offs and landings. Lufthansa announced that it had “significantly reduced the entire flight schedule for short and long-haul flights”. At the airport Frankfurt At times no aircraft could take off due to the freezing rain. In the meantime, as the rainfall has eased, individual machines are taking off again, according to a Fraport spokesman. The Saarbrücken Airport even announced on Tuesday evening that he would be ceasing operations completely on Wednesday. The airports are also indirect Berlin and Hamburg affected; There, connections to and from Frankfurt and Munich were canceled.
Road traffic
In Baden-Württemberg The situation on the streets was critical in many places, as the spokesmen for the local police headquarters said upon request. This morning there were 17 accidents on the A5 between Rastatt and Baden-Baden because a thick layer of ice had formed on the road. There were crashes almost every minute because vehicles started to lurch and crashed into the guardrail or other cars. The police then partially closed the highway. In the event of an accident on the ice A8 near Karlsruhe a car overturned. Also on the A8, but further east on Aichelberg between Ulm and Stuttgart, the highway had to be completely closed for a time. A truck driver was seriously injured there. The man got out of his vehicle because he wanted to help those involved in a recent accident. He was hit by another car.
In the Saarland By midday the police had already counted more than 100 traffic accidents. Most of the time there was damage to the sheet metal. The A6 had to be temporarily closed after a crash involving several vehicles near St. Ingbert. In Bitburg in Rhineland-Palatinate A 34-year-old van driver was killed in an accident. He left the road on a curve and crashed his car into a tree. Vicinity trier there was a traffic jam on the A64because the neighboring country of Luxembourg no longer allowed heavy traffic in – the trucks piled up and were redirected to parking spaces.
In the south North Rhine-Westphalia In the afternoon, bus services had to be completely or partially stopped in many places.
Despite the risk of black ice, there was still ice on the roads Bavaria There were only a few accidents in the morning. A spokesman for the Swabia South/West Police Headquarters, for example, reported only five accidents in his area of responsibility. There were four crashes in northern Upper Bavaria, and here too, according to a police spokesman, there was no material damage. The situation was also manageable in other parts of Bavaria.
Rail transport
The German railway prepared its customers for disruptions before the storm as a precautionary measure. A DB spokeswoman said there could be delays and train cancellations in regional and long-distance transport across Germany. As a precautionary measure, the maximum speed of the ICE was limited to 200 km/h. Anyone who would like to postpone their trip due to the onset of winter can use their ticket at a later date, according to the DB website. The train connection for all long-distance trains has been lifted – but this only applies to Wednesdays. Late in the morning, the company announced that the situation was manageable.
There is a curiosity about them High-speed trains between Paris and southern Germany. The connections are served by both German ICE and French TGV. While the TGV runs regularly on Wednesday, the ICE trains are mostly canceled. The reason: German trains are more susceptible to damage from falling lumps of ice and flying ballast stones.
Schools and public institutions
At many schools in Bavaria In-person classes were canceled on Wednesday. Districts in almost all administrative districts are affected. A complete list of school cancellations the Bavarian Ministry of Culture has published on its website. Also in NRW Children and young people in the Cologne and Arnsberg administrative districts do not have to go to school. Many schools here remain closed on Thursday.
In Nuremberg Garbage collection was stopped. “The danger for employees and road users is too high,” said the waste management company as justification. Because of the weather they were also Zoos in Nuremberg and Augsburg closed.
Outlook for the coming days
The weather should calm down towards the middle of the week. It will stay cold at first; But the sun is shining in many places, according to the German Weather Service. For Thursday Snow is reported in the southeast of the country, otherwise there are only a few snow showers at temperatures between zero and four degrees. By midday it can reach another ten degrees in the southwest before it gets cooler there too. In the north and in the center the sun shines more and more.
At the Friday There will be isolated snow showers in the north and northwest as well as in the eastern mountains, otherwise it will remain dry, with sun and clouds alternating. The maximum temperatures are again between zero and four degrees.