Winter bites back: Snow returns to Germany this week

After some weeks of mild winter weather, snow, frost and polar air will cross much of Germany over the coming days. Widespread minus temperatures are expected from Tuesday evening.

Winter weather returns to Germany

Chilly temperatures, frost, snow and maritime polar air are set to consume Germany once again after an unsettlingly mild New Year’s Eve period. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), snow showers will move in from the west and northwest of the federal republic.

Snowy weather is forecast in areas at least 300 metres above sea level, and in areas that lie 600 metres above sea level, the snow is likely to lay. The states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg will see the densest coverings, with between five and 15 centimetres of snow expected.

Friday will bring some relief to the frosty country. While the weather for the weekend is yet unclear, and a few flakes may still scatter themselves across Germany on Saturday and Sunday, temperatures are expected to rise again.

Tuesday night will bring minus temperatures

If, like many others in Germany, you’re attempting to forgo the heating this winter, get ready to bundle up for the rest of the week as minus temperatures slither through the country. Tuesday evening will bring lows of minus six degrees in Germany’s alpine valleys, and Wednesday evening will see temperatures sink a little deeper, with temperatures of minus eight expected.

But city-dwellers need not worry too much, in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich the below-freezing temperatures will stay between minus one and two.

“It will be frosty cold and with nighttime snow flurries in the Black Forest and low mountain ranges there will be a danger of slippery conditions caused by frozen wetness,” DWD meteorologist Martin Pscherer reported.

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