Lengthy traffic jams hit almost all of the main motorways in the north of Germany after heavy snowfall on Sunday night made driving the next day treacherous.

Police in the Lüneburg region reported at least eight trucks blocking roads in that area. The A7 motorway in the direction of Hannover between Bispingen and Evendorf remained at 9am completely blocked.

Another truck skidded across the A39 near Lüneburg. That road was, the police said, at 9am also completely inaccessible.

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In the north eastern state of Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, a police woman and helper were severely injured while trying to get to an accident on the A19. Black ice along the road had caused both the initially affected vehicle and the police vehicle to skid and crash.

In the hanseatic cities of Kiel and Hamburg, train service was severely disrupted with cancellations on long distance trains and delays on regional trains. Striking train workers added to the already patchy service caused by the weather, Deutsche Bahn said on Monday morning.

Over the course of Monday, around 20 centimetres of new snow are expected to fall, as winds from the Arctic bring yet another blast of winter. Combined with strong winds, and conditions in the top of the country are dangerous, warned the DWD weather service.

DPA/The Local/jcw