Germany braces for 10 to 20 centimetres of fresh snow

Freezing winter weather has had a tight grip on Germany for the past week, and there’s more to come. A “turbulent” storm is set to arrive on Thursday and bring 10 to 20 centimetres of fresh snow.

More snow heading to northern Germany

Storm Goretti is currently crossing the Atlantic on its approach to southern England, northern France and the Netherlands, before it is expected to arrive in Germany on Thursday evening.

According to Tagesschau meteorologist Karsten Schwanke, Goretti will bring rain to England and France, but as it arrives in Germany and meets freezing winter air arriving from Scandinavia, it will turn into a heavy snowstorm across the federal republic.

Northern and eastern Germany, particularly the stretch between Hamburg, the Lüneburger Heide region, Cottbus and Berlin is forecast to see the heaviest snowfall on Friday, between 10 and 20 centimetres of fresh snow. 

On Saturday, snow will move south but freezing temperatures will persist. On Saturday night, much of Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Lower Saxony are expecting temperatures of between -15 and -10 degrees celsius. In northern Brandenburg, Thuringia and Hamburg, temperatures between -10 and -6 degrees are forecast.

Snowstorm will move south on Saturday

As the north and east gets fresh snow flurries on Friday, Goretti will bring heavy rain south of Lower Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria. But on the night into Saturday, as the freezing air from Scandinavia moves further south, so will the snow.

While Munich is expecting just 5 to 10 centimetres of fresh snow, somewhere between 10 and 20 centimetres is forecast for Cologne. In the south, Stuttgart and the Breisgau region will see the heaviest snowfall, with up to 40 centimetres of new snow forecast for the Black Forest.

After heavy rainfall on Friday and a sudden temperature drop well below 0 degrees on Saturday, pathways and roads are expected to be extremely slippery over the weekend. Following the heavy snowfall across Germany, freezing temperatures are likely to persist for 10 days or so, after which milder winter weather will return.