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Oberwiesenthal: The toboggan run on the Fichtelberg is closed
Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa
Whether it's a walk in the forest, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing or sledding: Due to the persistently high number of corona infections, winter fun is prohibited on popular routes this weekend.
Strict regulations apply where permitted - and there are controls.
What applies everywhere: wear a mask, keep your distance - and turn around if the rush is too big.
These areas, among others, fear large numbers of visitors:
»The
Harz
National
Park
has stopped tracing the trails because that could possibly attract people, «said Maximilian Strache, spokesman for the Goslar district.
The Harz attracts too many day trippers.
Police and law enforcement officers increasingly checked compliance with the mask requirement on toboggan slopes and parking lots and had parking offenders towed along the country roads.
In the
Ore Mountains
, walks or ski tours are reserved for locals due to the corona restrictions: outdoor sports and exercise are only allowed in the Saxon hotspots within a 15-kilometer radius of the living area.
During patrols, checks will continue to be made to determine whether the corona rules are being adhered to, according to the Chemnitz police department.
The alpine ski season 2021 for Saxony was completely canceled a few days ago, the lifts no longer open.
In the
Holzminden
district in Lower Saxony
, the largest and most popular toboggan slopes are still closed.
The district had extended its general decree due to the persistently cold weather until the end of January.
Tobogganing is forbidden, but cross-country skiing or pulling a sled behind while walking is permitted.
In the
Sauerland
and
Eifel
, many ski and toboggan slopes, parking spaces and driveways remain closed.
In the Hessian low mountain range, too, some significant restrictions are to be expected again.
In the popular
Willingen
ski area
, all slopes and the associated parking spaces are closed from Friday up to and including Sunday.
If there is a large number of visitors, it is otherwise not possible to monitor compliance with hygiene and distance rules, the city justified the decision.
Danger of avalanches and snow breaks in the south
It's not just the Corona measures that tarnish winter fun.
The heavy snowfall in southern Germany, especially on Friday night, has already caused chaotic conditions on roads and rails and also to restrictions in excursion areas:
From the
Hochtaunuskreis
it was said: "The current weather situation with a mixture of dew and fresh snow makes the area around the Großer Feldberg a life-threatening danger for all visitors." The closures would be extended up to and including Monday.
The
Black Forest
mountain rescue service
warned: There is an increased risk of snow breaks and avalanches in the exposed high altitude of the Black Forest.
Bad visibility and the amount of snow also pose a risk for winter hikers and winter sports enthusiasts.
The police from Ravensburg urgently advised avoiding forest areas.
In large parts of the
Bavarian
Alps
the avalanche danger rose to the second highest warning level, which is why many excursion locations closed hiking trails and cross-country trails:
The experts now estimate the danger in the
Allgäu, Ammergau and Werdenfels Alps
consistently at all altitudes as great, as well as in the
Bavarian Prealps
from 1500 meters.
In the
eastern Alpine region it
is considerable at these higher altitudes.
"The situation remains tense," emphasized the Avalanche Warning Service Bavaria.
Many avalanches were reported on Thursday.
Because of the increased risk of avalanches, many hiking trails are closed: In
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
, all mountain and hiking trails are closed "at least over the weekend", in
Oberstdorf
im Allgäu hikers and ski tourers are also not allowed to use numerous routes.
In
Schwangau
in Ostallgäu, the path to the Marienbrücke near Neuschwanstein Castle is also blocked.
An avalanche accident has already occurred near Lenggries in the pre-Alps south of Munich, in which two people were partially buried.
They were hit by a medium-sized avalanche on the ascent to Brauneck at around 1350 meters.
"The fresh snow of the last few days came off the Brauneck summit slope, which was heavily drifted in with drift snow," the avalanche warning service described.
Fortunately, those involved were able to free themselves from the snow unharmed on Thursday.
The weather remains cold, "warming" in sight
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), it remains wintry on the weekend.
The temperatures are still around freezing point, in many places it is snowing.
Larger amounts of snow can only be expected in the south.
There are also warnings against slippery roads.
Single snow showers are expected in southeast and east Germany
on
Saturday
.
In most regions in Germany, the maximum values on the thermometer are between minus four and one degree.
Only on the North Sea and the Lower Rhine could it get a little warmer.
In the night of
Sunday
it will probably snow in the western half of Germany, in the morning then to the west of a line from Emden to the Allgäu, sometimes stronger.
During the course of Sunday, the snowfall in the northwest and west in the locations below 400 to 600 meters turns into rain, as it was said.
Above it and in the south it continues to snow.
In the mountains in particular, there could be significant amounts of fresh snow, according to the forecast.
In the east and northeast, on the other hand, it usually stays dry with a mix of clouds and some sun.
In addition, it is still cold there with daily highs between minus four and zero degrees.
In the west, however, up to four degrees are expected.
For Sunday there are signs of a slight warming from the west, according to the meteorologists.
The reason for this is a low in Iceland, whose foothills in Germany ensure the supply of mild Atlantic air.
The term "warming" is to be seen in relative terms: after minus degrees and values around freezing point, temperatures should rise
to four degrees
on
Monday
, in western Germany to six degrees, as it was said.
In the night of Monday it could snow again in eastern Germany.
Two to four centimeters of fresh snow are expected by Monday morning.
In the western half of Germany, up to four centimeters of fresh snow could fall above 400 meters.
Icon: The mirror
abl / dpa
