Snow and ice are moving over Germany. Winter weather has a firm grip on regions, especially in the south. The weather situation poses a danger, especially in road traffic – a child died in an accident in the Ore Mountains.
It’s winter in Germany. In addition to several centimeters of fresh snow, the low temperatures also bring black ice, sleet and squalls. The German Weather Service (DWD) issued severe weather warnings for several parts of the country.
Traffic in particular is suffering from the inhospitable weather: slippery roads are expected to continue to cause accidents in the coming days, and train and air traffic in the country is severely affected in some places.
Fatal bus accident and black ice in the east
At a School bus accident A child was killed in the Ore Mountains this morning. The victim is a student, the police said. In addition, two adults, including the bus driver, were seriously injured. At least ten other schoolchildren were injured and taken to hospital as a precaution.
The bus collided with a winter service vehicle in Sehmatal, a police spokesman said. The bus then crashed head-on into a tree. According to the police’s initial assessment, the road was slippery at the time of the accident.
Nighttime rain also caused slippery conditions on numerous other roads in the highlands of Saxony. “In the morning, the precipitation was converted from snow to rain by a layer of warm air at around 1,500 meters,” explained Florian Engelmann from the DWD. If the rain falls on cleared, exposed roads, which have a temperature below zero degrees, especially in the higher altitudes, it becomes extremely slippery.
In southern Thuringia, numerous trucks broke down due to the weather – in the Sonneberg district, several vehicles were parked across the road. On the A71 in the Suhl area, however, there is still a complete blanket of snow and the winter service is in constant use.
Slippery and fresh snow also in the north
In northern Lower Saxony, Hamburg and southern Schleswig-Holstein, many roads are also slippery after the snowfall. Slow traffic and traffic jams must be expected in these regions. For example, the A1 between Bramsche and Osnabrück harbor is closed due to rescue work.
In Hamburg the S-Bahn ran only to a limited extent or not at all. The DWD announced up to eight centimeters of new snow for northern Germany today, with up to 15 centimeters possible in some places. Overall, there is an increased risk of slippery conditions. It should stay that way in the coming days.
School cancellations and traffic chaos in Hesse
Snow, sleet and slippery conditions must still be expected in parts of Hesse. There is frequent rainfall throughout the day, which can cause black ice in the mountains. It snows in the evenings and at night, especially in the higher altitudes. Since Monday afternoon, there had been numerous accidents with injuries and traffic jams due to persistent snowfall and black ice. The police in Offenbach reported 25 accidents with nine injuries in southeast Hesse this morning.
On the A60, traffic between the Rüsselsheimer triangle and the Nahetal triangle was temporarily backed up for 40 kilometers. A 16-kilometer-long traffic jam also formed on the A5 on slippery roads. Due to the weather and the resulting impassable routes to school, face-to-face teaching has also been suspended at some schools in Hesse and distance learning is taking place.
Southern Germany is sinking in snow
There are also school cancellations in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. There is a severe weather warning for significant slippery conditions for large parts of Lower Bavaria. Because of the freezing rain, schools in several districts remain closed. Elsewhere, the heavy snow load on the school roofs means that the buildings are not allowed to be entered as a precaution. Deutsche Post announced that because of the snow, letters and parcels in southern Bavaria will only be able to be delivered in the coming days.
Lightning ice caused traffic chaos on the Bavarian roads and a mass accident involving 13 vehicles, and the Autobahn 99 was closed. Two people died in a collision between a car and a tractor-trailer on Autobahn 8 in Upper Bavaria. Munich Airport also stopped operations until midday.