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Hundreds of drivers spend night on Autobahn as Germany’s snow chaos continues

Long traffic jams built up on motorways in several regions of Germany due to the freezing conditions, leaving hundreds of people stranded in their cars.

Hundreds of drivers spend night on Autobahn as Germany's snow chaos continues
A traffic jam near Bielefeld on Monday evening. Photo: DPA

The worst log jam came on the A2 motorway outside Bielefeld, in North Rhine-Westphalia where an enormous 37 kilometre line of traffic built up on both sides of the road on Monday night. The queues stretched all the way into the state of Lower Saxony and had still not been cleared by Tuesday morning.

The A2 was blocked in both directions due to trucks coming to a standstill in the snow and not being able to get out. Police reported that hundreds of drivers had to spend the night in their cars.

Video footage showed shivering drivers huddled in their vehicles, complaining of going for hours without food as temperatures plunged to minus 12 degrees Celsius.

“The whole situation is tough, we are trying to work on a solution,” a police spokesman said on Tuesday morning.

In Bielefeld, a man was found dead on a snow-covered road on Monday, though emergency services said initial findings suggested he had suffered a medical emergency.

IN PICTURES: Snow and bitterly cold temperatures hit Germany

Another scene from the A2 near Bielefeld. Photo: DPA

Further down the A2 at Dortmund the motorway was also blocked after hundreds of haulage trucks broke the law banning them from driving after 10 pm and got stuck in the snow. 

“The police registered 350 breaches of the law,” a spokesperson confirmed.

There was also traffic jams in Brandenburg, where two lorries slid across the slippery surface of the A10. Both lorries were jammed perpendicular to the road and could no longer move.

Good news came for drivers who had been stuck on a stretch of the A4 in north Hesse for 15 hours. Police reported that the road there had been cleared. But traffic was still moving slowly while police moved from truck to truck waking drivers who’d fallen asleep.

Major transport problems

Intercity train travel meanwhile continues to be heavily restricted. There are no services from Hamburg to Munich, or Hamburg to Cologne.

The train service connecting Saxony’s two major cities – Dresden and Leipzig – is also closed.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, some 20 car accidents were reported during a day of heavy snowfall. Fortunately, only one injury was reported.

Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer appealed to people in northern and central Germany to stay at home until at least Wednesday. 

“In such extreme conditions, even the best gritting vehicles will reach their limits,” the CSU politician said on Tuesday. 

“We are working on all fronts to ensure that we get the north-south roads free – so that we can at least drive with restrictions,” he said.

“A new weather front is forming: a small one, but it's very fierce,” Scheuer said. “On Tuesday and Wednesday we will get a lot of snow on the Baltic Sea and near Rügen, along with stormy conditions.”

Enjoying the snow on the Maschsee in Hannover. Photo: DPA

In much of Germany though, snow will give way to frost in the coming days. In central and eastern Germany, night frost of -18C will not be uncommon, weather forecaster Martin Jonas predicts.

With the wind chill factor, temperatures could feel as low as minus 30 degrees at night, forecasters have said.

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WEATHER

Spring to arrive in Germany with temperatures of up to 21C

The moment many people around Germany have been waiting for is almost here: as of Thursday, temperatures are expected to crack the 20C mark and stay warm through the start of spring.

Spring to arrive in Germany with temperatures of up to 21C

Whether it’s the pink cherry blossom trees which have started to bloom, lighter evenings or people walking around with ice cream cones, the signs of springs have already started to show around Germany in March.

Now the weather is also catching up: following rain storms on Wednesday, the mercury is expected to reach at least 20C in many parts of the Bundesrepublik on Thursday. 

READ ALSO: Seven signs that Spring has arrived in Germany

First there’s some damper news: On Wednesday, Germany – in particular the southwest – is expected to be hit by the storms. In the Black Forest, 30 to 40 litres per square metre will fall by midday, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

In the Alps, light snowfall will set in above 1,000 to 1,200 metres, with fresh snowfall of around five centimetres expected. 

The rain will ease by the following morning, but it will remain cloudy.

Up to 21C on Thursday

On Thursday, after the morning the fog disappears, people can look forward to a sunny and dry day – especially in the south and western parts of Germany. 

Temperatures will rise to a pleasant 14 to 21C degrees, with the highest values on the Upper Rhine. 

In mountainous areas and by the sea, it will remain somewhat cooler at 10C to 14C. 

Friday will be characterised by changeable weather: there will be sunny spells as well as rain showers, which will spread from the west and may be heavy in places – including thunderstorms. 

Temperatures will be between 14C and 18C degrees, and in the Lausitz region in eastern Germany it could even reach a warm 20 degrees.

Warmer weeks

While this Sunday could still see some single digit temperatures in northern parts of Germany – such as 9C in Berlin and Hamburg – the coming week is set to experience continually warmer weather, remaining at 14C and higher. 

The first day of spring officially begins this year with the Spring Equinox on March 19th. The days will become even lighter in Germany after Daylight Savings Time, which this year takes place in the early hours of Easter Sunday, or March 31st.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in March 2024

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