The cold continues to have Germany firmly in its grip: More than 150 take-offs and landings at Munich Airport were canceled due to the weather – but skiers at the summit had something to be happy about. It’s expected to stay cold even on the weekend.
After frosty temperatures at the meteorological start of winter, it remains icy cold in Germany even at the weekend. “During the day we often move in the area of light permafrost, only in the lowlands of the south and west are gentle plus degrees possible,” said meteorologist Marcel Schmid from the German Weather Service (DWD). Snow is also still falling, especially in the south and southeast.
Already on Friday night and in the morning there were dozens of accidents in southern Germany due to snowfall and slippery conditions. Several people were injured. In an accident on Autobahn 81 near Mundelsheim in Baden-Württemberg, there were a total of seven injured, four of whom were seriously injured.
At Munich Airport, more than 150 take-offs and landings had to be canceled due to the weather. The reasons for this are snowfall and low temperatures, said a spokesman. At least one runway had to remain clear at all times because the runways were cleared alternately.
Ski season has started at the Zugspitze
Skiers, on the other hand, were happy about the conditions: the ski season began with fresh snow at the Zugspitze. “Heavy snowfall, poor visibility – but pure joy about tons of snow,” said the spokeswoman for the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn, Verena Tanzer, summarizing the start on Germany’s highest mountain. Not since 2007 has there been so much snow at the start of the season, more than two meters. Locals with seasonal and annual passes in particular took their first turns at over 2000 meters altitude. Three lifts were in operation and eight pistes were accessible – more than usual at the start.
The first ski lifts also went into operation in the Sauerland after the early onset of winter, as well as in Oberhof in Thuringia – this was earlier than in ten years, the ski lift operator said. Winter operations had already started in the middle of the week with lifts in the Black Forest, followed a day later by the Söllereck in the Allgäu. The heavy snowfall in the past few days had somewhat mixed up the order at the season opening. On Hesse’s highest mountain, the Wasserkuppe, for example, skiing is scheduled to begin this Saturday.
“Everything has to be taken into account”
The further outlook is also frosty: According to the DWD, on Saturday the sun can only be seen temporarily in the north, otherwise the sky is overcast or even very cloudy. Snow falls at times from the edge of the Alps to Lusatia, and sometimes heavily on the edge of the Alps and in the Alps. The temperatures are between minus five and zero degrees, in the south and west they can easily slip into the plus range. With similar temperatures, it will mostly stay dry during the day on Sunday, and the sun will shine at times. Only in the north and east can it still snow a little locally. Snow is also expected for the west in the evening.
“The weather remains very exciting at the start of the new week,” said DWD meteorologist Schmid. “Everything from snow to rain to freezing rain must be expected.” The temperatures on Monday will be between minus four and zero degrees in the eastern half and between zero and five degrees in the western half; it will be warmest in the Upper Rhine. In the north and northeast as well as south of the Danube it is sunny and mostly dry for long periods of time. In the other parts of the country it snows occasionally, in the west and southwest snow and rain can fall in the evening. The rain can also freeze locally, meaning there is a risk of black ice.