Black ice in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen: "Take this warning seriously"
Created: 2022-12-13, 4:45 p.m
By: Carl Christian Eick
As early as Tuesday evening, the emergency vehicles from the road maintenance departments in Wolfratshausen and Bad Tölz began to sprinkle de-icing agents on the streets in the district.
© Symbolic photo/Thomas Warnack
The German weather service warns: During the night on Wednesday, black ice can form on the roads in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – The German weather service, DWD for short, is sounding the alarm: For the night of this Wednesday, the experts are forecasting a weather situation with “high potential for storms”.
When asked by our newspaper, Jürgen Neidhardt, head of the Wolfratshausen road maintenance department, says: "One should take this warning seriously." This is also the opinion of his counterpart in Bad Tölz, Manfred Sitzberger.
Black ice in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen: "Take this warning seriously"
According to the DWD, precipitation will be coming from the south-west late Tuesday evening.
Initially, snow is expected to fall in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, which, according to the DWD, "can quickly turn into freezing rain".
The result: "There is widespread black ice to be expected - and it cannot be ruled out that the freezing rain will sometimes last for many hours."
Snow clearers admit: “We don’t like lightning ice at all”
The so-called black ice, which forms in a matter of seconds when rain falls on frozen asphalt, "we don't like that at all," says Neidhardt.
Luckily, this treacherous interaction only occurs “every few years”.
If the forecasts of the DWD come true, massive disruptions to road and rail traffic must be expected on Wednesday morning.
“In addition, there can be damage to the infrastructure, such as electricity pylons and lines.
There is a risk of ice breaking in forests,” warn the DWD experts.
The weather conditions to be expected in the district contain “a high potential for severe weather”.
The corresponding warning is valid until Thursday at 9 a.m.
From 1.30 a.m. a scout sounds out the situation on the streets
Neidhardt and Sitzberger see the forces of the road maintenance departments well equipped.
Eight trucks can move out from the Wolfratshausen location – beforehand, a so-called scout personally gets a picture of the situation on the roads from 1.30 a.m. at night.
The road maintenance departments can also access very detailed weather data.
Among other things, the snow clearers have "current air and road temperatures" at their disposal, according to Neidhardt.
In the Dietramszell district of Linden and in Beuerberg there are two of several "icing warning systems" in the district.
Data is collected there that can be called up by the road maintenance departments around the clock.
"We always have a relatively good overview of the overall situation."
Nothing is further from Neidhardt and Sitzberger than to spread panic.
But what is likely to be brewing in the next few hours over the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district, "that can be dangerous," says the head of the Wolfratshausen road maintenance department.
He still remembers a momentous night of Blitzeis a few years ago.
"No one came to Munich anymore."
Gritter vehicles move out on Tuesday evening
According to Sitzberger, a tried and tested remedy for slippery roads is the timely application of de-icing agents.
As early as Tuesday evening, the forces of the Wolfratshausen and Tölz road maintenance departments - they have four of their own vehicles and can activate eight external service providers - salt.
That is, before the first expected precipitation.
In this way, smoothness can be "delayed a bit," explains Neidhardt, who follows the same principle as his colleague in the district town.
Any further action would prompt the scouts, who would put it to the test on the streets.
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But if black ice does form across the board, in the worst case even the pros will have to capitulate in the fight against the ice.
Sitzberger points out that he drove to his workplace via Reichersbeuern on Tuesday morning – the mercury column in the community showed “minus 19 degrees”.
That is definitely "tap-like" and allows a clear conclusion to be drawn as to what happens when rain drips onto the ice-cold streets.
"That quickly becomes a danger."
If you don't necessarily have to drive a car, you should leave it - or start later.
Jürgen Neidhardt, Head of the Wolfratshausen Road Maintenance Department
In any case, the public should not take the urgent warning of the German Weather Service lightly.
“Anyone who doesn't absolutely have to drive a car should leave it alone – or start later,” emphasizes Neidhardt.
A first indicator for everyone can be found on their own front door.
If the garage exit or the way to the mailbox is already slippery, you should not unnecessarily expose yourself to the risk of demolishing your car or even damaging your health.
The road maintenance depots in Wolfratshausen and Bad Tölz operate under the direction of the State Building Authority in Weilheim.
The authority looks after more than 1,500 kilometers of federal, state and district roads in the five districts of Starnberg, Landsberg, Weilheim-Schongau, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Exactly 448 kilometers of asphalt are in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.
In a normal winter, the two road maintenance depots need up to 3,500 tons of de-icing fluid, which is stored in large halls in Bichl, Bad Tölz and in the town of Wolfratshausen.
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