Weather
Snow and ice paralyze traffic in Bavaria
Snow and ice have caused traffic chaos in southern Bavaria. Here is a street in Munich. photo
© Felix Hörhager/dpa
Passengers have to spend the night on trains, flight operations at Munich Airport are temporarily suspended, railway lines are closed: heavy snowfall is causing chaos in the south of Bavaria.
As a spokesman for Munich Airport announced, flight operations have been suspended until 12 p.m. The winter service is in action to enable safe operations again. So far, around 320 of 760 planned flights have been canceled for today. Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight before traveling to the airport.
Train: Postpone trips to and from Munich
According to information from Deutsche Bahn, long-distance connections from the Bavarian capital to Salzburg, Innsbruck, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Lindau are canceled. The railway assumes that the restrictions will last throughout Saturday. “We recommend postponing trips to and from Munich,” said the spokeswoman.
Subways, buses and trams also initially stopped running in the Bavarian capital. There were numerous accidents on the roads in southern Bavaria – according to the police, most of them resulted in property damage. According to the German Weather Service, the weather will remain wintry for the time being. Snowfall, sometimes heavy, is expected in the south and southeast until the afternoon.
Accidents in Upper Bavaria – emergency services in constant use
The police in Upper Bavaria South urged the population to stay at home. The police, rescue services, fire brigade and clearance services are in constant operation. Many smaller roads outside of towns are heavily snowed or blocked by fallen trees. The removal of traffic obstacles will last at least until late morning. Train traffic is severely restricted due to fallen trees and overhead lines. Anyone who has a breakdown or accident can expect delays in getting help.
Between Munich-Pasing and Fürstenfeldbruck, between Tutzing (Starnberg district) and Weilheim in Upper Bavaria and between Neukirchen and Vilseck (both Amberg-Sulzbach district), trains had to stop at the stations because of fallen trees. Rail replacement services cannot be offered due to the weather-related situation on the roads, it said. Delays and train cancellations must be expected.
Overnight trains for stranded guests
As a dpa reporter reported, a train coming from Stuttgart had to be converted into an overnight train at Ulm main station in the early hours of the morning. Deutsche Bahn also provided a train for stranded passengers at Munich Central Station. According to a DB spokeswoman, it was initially unclear how many trains had to cancel their journeys for the time being.
The police in the Free State reported numerous minor accidents on the roads. In Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Middle Franconia and Swabia, however, there were mainly sheet metal damage and minor injuries. In Swabia in particular, roads initially had to be closed due to fallen trees. A truck overturned on Autobahn 8 near Weyarn (Miesbach district) for reasons that are still unclear.
Up to 40 centimeters of fresh snow in the Allgäu
There was also a lot of snowfall in Baden-Württemberg. Near Stuttgart, the fresh snow caused trees to fall, the police reported. In the town of Vaihingen near Stuttgart, parts of a tree fell onto a power line. In the other federal states it was mostly freezing cold, but no accidents were reported for the time being. Hamburg reported five centimeters of fresh snow. The clearing vehicles are in use, it was said.
According to the German Weather Service, the highest amounts of new snow are expected in the Allgäu region with 30 to 40 centimeters by Saturday afternoon. Amounts of fresh snow of ten centimeters are possible in Saxony. In addition, frequent snow showers are expected on the North and Baltic Sea coasts and in the adjacent inland areas, which will spread to the northern low mountain ranges over the course of the day. Light permanent frost is expected throughout the day. Only along the Rhine and in the Emsland as well as directly by the sea will it remain temporarily frost-free in some places.
On Sunday night, severe frost with lows of between minus 10 and minus 15 degrees can be expected, especially in Schleswig-Holstein and the southwestern mountains, it said.