“This year we still haven’t seen any patients with hay fever,” ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Arne Weidenfeld from the Aklepios clinic in Hamburg said on Friday.

In addition to delaying the release of plant pollen, the wet and cold conditions prevent what little there is from getting very far, he explained.

Though this may provide temporary comfort to the allergy-prone, it will unfortunately make springtime allergies more intense when the weather finally warms up.

Now both trees and flowers will probably bloom simultaneously, giving people with multiple allergies a particularly hard time, Weidenfeld said.

By mid-March spring has usually arrived in Germany, but this weekend up to 30 centimetres of snow is expected in many parts of the country, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported on Friday.

Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.