The 35-year-old woman was badly hurt when her car slid off a road and into a tree near Calden, northern Hesse, police said. They dealt with more than a dozen accidents across the region through Monday night.

Lower Saxony’s Emsland district was hit by a serious hailstorm leading to 14 accidents within a 24-hour period on the A31 motorway between Twist und Dörpen. Two slight injuries were reported.

Four people were slightly injured after three cars they were travelling in skidded in snow and slammed into guardrails on the A27 motorway near Bremerhaven, an enclave that belongs to Bremen but is surrounded by Lower Saxony state.

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Snowy weather also caused difficult driving conditions and accidents in Bavaria and Saxony. Five people were seriously injured in car crashes in Saxony, while in Bavaria a 34-year-old man driving a tractor towing a trailer lost control on one portion of A9 motorway near Marktschorgast, and crashed down an embankment, causing more than €200,000 in damage.

North Rhine-Westphalia also had its share of traffic troubles. A vehicle skidded and plunged down an embankment near Winterberg, leaving the driver and four children aged between 9 and 14, the Rheinische Post reported.

The German Weather Service (DWD) reported that cold and occasionally icy weather should continue through much of Germany over the next few days.

The Local/DAPD/mdm