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The winter services from North Rhine-Westphalia to Saxony are on alert (symbol picture)
Photo: Friso Gentsch / dpa
The announced onset of winter is already making itself felt in some regions of Germany.
In parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, a dangerous freezing rain set in in the evening.
At first, however, there were only very small hailstones, said a meteorologist from the German Weather Service.
Only in Siegerland did the weather experts estimate the risk to be very high and warned of widespread black ice.
From there, the freezing rain stretches in a wide strip over Wuppertal and Düsseldorf to the Dutch border at night.
In this area, at least locally, smoothness can be expected, it said.
It could become much more critical in the course of the night further north in NRW.
For the region from the Lippe district via Bielefeld and Paderborn to Münster and Unna, the weather service warned of heavy snowfall from 9 p.m. and of extremely heavy snowdrifts from midnight.
The "Bild" newspaper reported on snow-related traffic obstructions in parts of Thuringia.
Accordingly, trucks began to slide on the A71 and A4.
It snowed ten centimeters within an hour and a half.
Bahn sets up overnight accommodation
Deutsche Bahn organized temporary accommodation for stranded travelers in several cities.
In this way, one is prepared in Hamburg, Hanover, Münster, Kassel and Leipzig if customers can no longer reach their destination by train, said a spokeswoman.
The railway had already warned in advance that the expected onset of winter could lead to restrictions in rail traffic.
For example, all long-distance trains between Hamburg and Kiel, Hamburg and Lübeck and between Hamburg and Westerland were canceled for the weekend.
People should stick to the recommendation of the German Weather Service and stay at home if possible, said a spokeswoman.
In parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, the highest warning level of the German Weather Service applied on Saturday.
During the night, the meteorologists expected heavy snowfall and extreme snow drifts from west to east from Bocholt to Magdeburg.
In large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia and Saxony there is said to be black ice.
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fek / dpa