Thursday night was the coldest so far this winter, with temperatures in parts of Thuringia and atop Germany’s highest mountain dropping to below -26C.

The German Weather Service (DWD) reported that southern Germany between Franconian Switzerland and Upper Palatinate in Bavaria were particularly affected by below freezing temperatures.

In Schorndorf-Knöbling, the thermometers were still reading around -22.6C by 9am on Friday morning.

It was even colder at the top of Germany’s highest mountain, Zugspitze, with temperatures as low as -26.6C. But even below mountain ranges, Veilsdorf in Thuringia experienced temperatures down to -26.3C.

On coastal areas, beaches had light layers of frost. The north had been battered this week by storm Axel, bringing snow and the worst Baltic Sea flooding in a decade. Temperatures there on the North and Baltic Seas were between -2C and -4C Thursday night.

Meanwhile in the country’s larger cities of Berlin, Cologne and Munich, the urban dwellers clutched their blankets at night due to the -10C weather.

The weather forcasters predict Friday night to also bring below freezing temperatures, down to -23C in the south.

Snow is predicted to fall throughout the country, particularly in central and southern parts, while the west and northwest should have milder temperatures with rain. DWD also warns of black ice on roadways.

On Sunday, more snow is to come with up to 10cm of fresh powder for winter sports enthusiasts in the south and Saxony.

But come Monday, things are looking less wintery and more rainy.

“A period of patchy, wet-cold weather will begin,” said meteorologist Thomas Ruppert.