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Winter returns for an encore

Don’t pack up those winter coats and mittens just yet, the German Weather Service (DWD) is forecasting more snow across much of the country this weekend.

Published: 3 March 2010 14:25 CET

Winter returns for an encore

Photo: DPA

Following the deadly path of destruction left by Atlantic storm Xynthia, a high-pressure system is moving towards Germany, already bringing snow to northern regions and beyond.

“We shouldn’t write off the winter just yet. Because the next storm, called ‘Yve,’ is at our door,” DWD meteorologist Dorothea Paetzold said on Wednesday in a statement. “We’ll have to adjust ourselves to another few centimetres of snow – in the flatlands too!”

Snow was already in the mix on Wednesday morning in chilly northern Germany, while the weather in the southwest remained milder with an average temperature of eight degrees Celsius.

More snow is expected to fall on Thursday, but it will remain confined to the higher altitudes of the Ore Mountains of Saxony and in the Bavarian Alps, Paetzold said.

But on Friday snow and sleet will quickly spread to the southeast all the way to the Mosel and Main River regions by evening. Lower mountainous areas could see up to 10 centimetres of new snow by Saturday morning.

Central and southern Germany will have more snow to shovel throughout Saturday, when temperatures are expected to remain near freezing.

Click here for The Local’s weather forecast.

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Severe weather warnings issued as Germany braces for more storms

Severe weather is expected in the southwest of the country on Friday, with the heaviest rain expected in Saarbrücken, as well as the surrounding areas of Saarland and southern Rhineland-Palatinate.

In these areas Germany’s weather service (DWD) has level 4 warnings in place – meaning that the rain is expected to be extremely heavy (more than 40 litres per square metre in an hour, or 60 litres per square metre in 6 hours).

Slightly less severe, but still heavy continuous rain can also be expected in the surrounding regions, extending as far as Stuttgart and Mainz.

Speaking to Bild newspaper, Climatologist Dr. Karsten Brandt suggested that the heavy precipitation and thunderstorms will continue to move northwest, even into southern North-Rhine Westphalia (Aachen).

There are also wind warnings in parts of the country, with squalls expected on the Brocken and the Fichtelberg mountains, as well as in the Black Forest and in the Alps.

Currently, the highest wind warnings are in Dresden and southern Bavaria near the Alps.

Friday’s weather warnings come in the wake of chaotic weather that flooded Nuremberg and parts of Bavaria Thursday night, where many roads flooded. Cars were submerged in water and bus routes were cancelled.

A number of household cellars also flooded as well as a large underground car park at the Technical University.

READ ALSO: Record heat deaths and floods – How Germany is being hit by climate change

What will the weekend bring?

Beyond the area of severe weather warnings but not beyond the reach of the storm, Cologne will have some rain on Friday which may continue on through the weekend.

Germany’s northern and eastern regions have dodged the recent bout of storms so far, but in Berlin scattered thunderstorms can be expected to move in by Sunday afternoon. This may put a dampener on the Karneval der Kulturen parade.

In Bremen and Hamburg, residents can expect some rain showers on Sunday and Monday, with a chance of thunderstorms as well.

In Munich and Nuremberg, it looks as if the worst is over. Some small showers may continue into Saturday, but Bavarian residents can look forward to a sunny Sunday ahead of the public holiday on Monday for Pentecost.

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