White Christmas?

Weather experts with sobering forecasts

Created: 12/19/2022 10:24 am

By: Momir Takac

Will there finally be a white Christmas again this year?

Probably not, say meteorologists.

Statistically, it would be time again.

Offenbach/Munich – Is there anything nicer at Christmas than spending time with loved ones who you haven't seen in a while?

Yes, if there is a beautiful snowy landscape outside for the family celebration.

White Christmas.

However, it is rather unlikely that this will happen in Germany this year.

Weather experts are dampening hopes of pristine white powder snow and bizarre ice crystals on the trees.

"It's more like a green Christmas," said Andreas Friedrich, meteorologist at the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach.

Instead, there should be a muddy thaw over the holidays in Germany.

White Christmas?

After a cold Advent weekend, it gets warmer towards the holidays

The reason for this is a change in the weather, which is expected at the beginning of the new week.

Germany is currently in winter chaos.

Temperatures are rising and heavy rain is forecast.

Not a good mix for the experts.

“Rain started to fall from the west as early as Monday night, freezing on the ground.

So there is a risk of severe weather, ”warned DWD meteorologist Marcel Schmid.

Slippery roads, as they also existed after the freezing rain, could then also be found in eastern Germany when the zone with freezing rain moves.

Before that, it gets really cold again on the fourth weekend in Advent.

Down to minus six degrees on Saturday and zero to minus five degrees on Sunday during the day.

During the night in between, the thermometer can drop to minus 15 degrees, depending on the region in Germany.

Statistically, there is a white Christmas in Germany about every ten years

But then it gets warm.

At Christmas it could get up to ten degrees warm.

At least that's what a DWD weather model predicts, which, according to Friedrich, is only right in 70 percent of the cases.

The greatest probability of snow on the public holidays is in the Alps above about 1000 meters.

Statistically, it would be the turn of a white Christmas again.

Also due to global warming, there is more than ten centimeters of snow across the board in Germany only about every ten years on the public holidays.

This was last the case in 2010.

Otherwise, "the famous Christmas thaw" usually dominates, says Friedrich.