The Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains and the Fichtelberg peak in the Ore Mountains both reported eight centimetres of snow, while the Black Forest in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg measured 16 centimetres.
“You can already build a small snowman,” head of the Brocken weather station Claus Adler said.
The low-mountain region in the Bavarian Forest had the most white stuff, reporting 24 centimetres.
Residents up north also awoke to snow in parts of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, but temperatures just above zero prevented much accumulation, the DWD said.
Any accumulation in higher altitudes is unlikely to remain for more than the next few days, though, said DWD meteorologist Christina Speicher, predicting temperatures would soon warm up a bit.
“Wintry spells are not unusual in the early autumn in Germany,” Speicher said, adding that it was time for residents to get snow tires put on their vehicles.
The snowfall came with low pressure system “Saphira,” which brought cold Polar air from the north. But as that system blows out of the country, much of Germany will get a brief respite from the chilly and rainy weather of recent weeks.
Sunshine and partly cloudy conditions are expected over the weekend, with temperatures reaching up to 11 degrees in lower altitudes and just above zero in the mountains.
Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.
DAPD/DPA/ka
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