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Hamburger Jungfernstieg: gritting vehicle in use against black ice
Photo: Markus Scholz / dpa
Large parts of Germany were affected by dangerous black ice on Monday night.
Freezing rain with black ice first occurred in the west and north-west, and later also in the middle of the country.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), there will also be widespread black ice rain in the north-east and east over the course of Monday.
According to experts, temperatures will rise slightly this week.
With the mild air comes rain - which makes the frozen ground slippery.
"The center and the north are reached in the morning - of all things for the start of the rush hour," said Sonja Stöckle from the DWD on Sunday.
Weather-related accidents occurred on some roads during the night.
Four people were injured in a collision between two cars on a snow-covered road near Gaggenau in Baden-Württemberg (Rastatt district).
A 34-year-old driver was trapped in the impact and had to be freed from the car by rescue workers.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, there were accidents in the Rhein-Lahn district with two minor injuries.
In the district of Warendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, the police counted seven weather-related accidents with property damage between midnight and 3 a.m.
One fears more accidents in the morning hours.
"Perhaps one or the other can postpone their departure time a bit, at least until the gritting services are through," said a spokesman early Monday morning.
The weather service has already issued official severe weather warnings for many regions in Germany.
"There is a risk of ice with a potential hazard from freezing rain," it says.
The DWD therefore advises avoiding being outdoors as much as possible.
Anyone who has to be out and about by car on Monday should adjust their driving style on the road.
In addition, the DWD advises motorists to fill up their tanks and take blankets and warm drinks with them.
Significant traffic delays must be expected in both road and rail traffic.
Lessons canceled in several cities and districts
There are also consequences for schools, for example in Lower Saxony: In several districts and cities, classes are canceled on Monday due to the "expected extreme weather conditions" at all general and vocational schools.
This was announced by the districts of Celle, Hameln-Pyrmont, County of Bentheim, Leer, Osterholz, Stade, Wittmund and Vechta as well as the cities of Delmenhorst, Hildesheim and Wolfsburg - as well as the city and district of Osnabrück.
In the city and district of Göttingen, there are no classes at primary and secondary schools, but not at vocational schools.
aar/dpa
