The warning came after a weekend of disruption across Germany with high winds, snow and freezing air.

In the coming days though, the temperature will begin to rise, signalling hope for the beginning of spring.

In Berlin the mercury dropped to -4C on Monday morning. Over the weekend there were similar temperatures in the capital, although it remained dry.

The severe weather played havoc with public transport in several regions of the country.

Airport runways at Leipzig, Halle and Dresden had to be cleared of snow on Saturday and some flights were cancelled during the weekend, according to Spiegel.

On the high-speed rail route route between Cologne and Berlin, an ICE train with 600 people on board collided with a fallen tree which had blown over in the strong winds. Nobody was injured in the incident. Part of the route was temporarily closed and a replacement bus service was put in place.

Travel chaos also affected one of Leipzig’s most important exhibition days, the Leipzig Book Fair, which had 14,000 fewer guests than expected.

Meanwhile a storm in the Harz mountain region reportedly reached hurricane strength winds of around 115 km per hour.

Large parts of the country were covered in snow, while in Thuringia, several drivers were stuck in snowdrifts.

Meanwhile, in Hesse dozens of uprooted trees caused disruption to the transport network.

In the coming days, forecasters expect temperatures to slowly increase.

However, the German Weather Service (DWD) warned there could be a risk of sunburn because of very dry air and bright sunshine, despite the low temperatures.

On Monday night, there is likely to be widespread frost with temperatures sinking as low as -15C in some parts of the country.

In Berlin there is a risk of snow showers on Tuesday, with highs of 4C and lows of -7C. The mercury is forecast to rise to 7C on Wednesday and 9C on Saturday.

The DWD told Spiegel that the late winter isn’t unusual, adding that “every five to ten years you can expect snowfall in March.”