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WEATHER

Weather: Parts of Germany to see up to 40 cm of snow as temperatures dip

A storm named 'Dimitrious' came to Germany this week, leading to intense snowfall in parts of the country. The weather is expected to be calmer, albeit colder, in the coming days.

Published: 13 January 2021 16:00 CET
Weather: Parts of Germany to see up to 40 cm of snow as temperatures dip
Drivers moved slowly over snow and ice covered roads in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Wednesday. Photo: DPA

The storm caused traffic chaos in some parts of Germany in the early hours of Wednesday.

In northern Lower Saxony, a section of highway was closed due to several black ice accidents, and in the south and west there were numerous traffic jams and delays due to broken down vehicles. 

By early Wednesday morning, at least one person had died in accidents and several were seriously injured. However, there were mostly minor accidents causing car damage and non-serious injuries, according to regional police departments.

Fresh snow in Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt on Wednesday. Photo: DPA

The weather was expected to remain wintry during the day on Wednesday, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

In the evening the storm is set to weaken, but will bring a lot of rain, reported DWD. Residents of northern and eastern Germany will see a mix of snow and sleet, and also possibly thunderstorms during the night. 

Those in southern Germany will want to put on those snow boots if they head outdoors: areas stretching from the Black Forest to the Alps will experience heavy snowfall until at least Friday morning. 

Within this period, snowfall of 10 cm is expected in the Upper Black Forest. In the Alps and Alpine foothills up to 20 to 30 cm of snow could fall, and as much as 40 cm is expected in the Upper Allgäu and the Werdenfelser Land.

A dog plays in fresh snow in Garmisch-Parternkirchen, Bavaria, on Wednesday. Photo: DPA

Yet the rest of the country is likely to see dry and sunny weather for the remainder of the week, with some lighter snow showers in the east.

Still, the country will remain bitterly cold with highs between 0 and 4C during the day, and with lows of at least -2C at night, including in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt.

From Friday to Sunday, frost is to be expected in many places during the day, with some rainfall. The sun is set to emerge in most places, though (fingers crossed for that).

Vocabulary

sleet – (die) Graupel 

rainfall/precipitation – (der) Niederschlag 

thunderstorm – (das) Gewitter

snow showers – (die) Schneeschauer

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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INSIDE GERMANY

Inside Germany: Citizenship campaign, wedding bureaucracy and landmark cinema closure

From a campaign to encourage foreigners to apply for German citizenship and the clunky process of getting married in Germany to an East German cinema, here are a few of the things we've been talking about this week.

Published: 18 May 2024 07:43 CEST
Inside Germany: Citizenship campaign, wedding bureaucracy and landmark cinema closure

Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

Citizenship campaign to launch

With just over a month to go until Germany’s citizenship law comes into effect, many foreign residents will be getting their documents together. 

But for those who are unsure (and do qualify under the new rules), the German government wants to convince you to become a naturalised German. 

This week we learned that a campaign will kick off on the same date the new rules enter into force – June 27th – providing foreigners with guidance for their applications.

The campaign will be launched by the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration and aims to “inform those interested in naturalisation and those potentially entitled to naturalisation about the requirements and procedures for naturalisation”.

A website will go live when the reform comes into force. 

“It will contain information on the requirements for German citizenship, the application process and the naturalisation procedure, as well as a digital quick check, which interested parties can use to check whether they basically meet the requirements.”

People in Germany may also spot various adverts about the new on social media, including Instagram. 

A German citizenship certificate and passport.

A German citizenship certificate and passport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez

Alongside cutting ordinary residence requirements from eight years to five, a previous ban on dual nationality for non-EU citizens will be lifted, allowing applicants to keep their existing passports after they become German – unless it is not permitted in their origin country. 

Meanwhile, we were also given some clarification over the exact date that German citizenship will come into force. After previously letting us know that the law would come into force on June 26th 2024, the government told us on Thursday it would be June 27th. 

There had been some confusion over this date, including among elected officials. 

Saying yes (or no) to marrying in Germany

Imagine meeting the person of your dreams in Germany – but then realising how difficult the bureaucracy requirements can be when you’re getting married. That’s the experience of many foreign residents.

Instead, a lot of couples choose to cross the border into neighbouring Denmark where the hurdles to wed are much lower, as Paul Krantz reported this week.

“Given our experience with German bureaucracy, it didn’t take much to convince us,” Sam Care, 32, who lives in Berlin told The Local.

There are, of course, some couples who stick with Germany and successfully get married here. Check out our article below to find out the steps you need to take. 

Germany in Focus 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel this week announced more details about her upcoming memoir and when it will be released. We get into this on the new episode of the Germany in Focus podcast as well as looking at how politicians are getting on TikTok, why a row over pro-Palestinian protests at a Berlin university have sparked a nationwide row and fascinating facts about Cologne. 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on stage in Berlin on Tuesday.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on stage in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

Berlin’s Kino International cinema shut for renovation

One thing I love about living in Berlin is the number of cinemas. I especially like the ones with a bit of interesting history attached to them, such as the Kino International. 

This cinema, which opened in 1963 in the former East Berlin, shut its doors on May 14th for a two-year renovation.

It was viewed as a gem of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), hosting film premieres up until German reunification in 1990. Interestingly, On November 9th, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell, the premiere of an East German film called “Coming Out” took place – this was the first and last queer film in a GDR cinema.

One of the last films to be shown this week at the Kino before it shut was (the German dubbed) Dirty Dancing. This film premiered there in 1987!

Last weekend I took a turn to the cinema’s iconic cafe-bar before it closed. Check out the video in this tweet if you’re interested in getting a last look (at least for now) inside the building. 

Let me know if you have some recommendations for cool cinemas to check out in Germany. 

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