Winter is coming back to Germany: DWD warns of snow and ice

Created: 01/15/2023 04:47

By: Christina Denk

From January 16th it can snow again in Germany.

The winter sports areas should be happy.

But how long does the winter phase last?

Munich – While the weather in Germany was still dominated by rain and storms at the weekend, winter is slowly making its appearance again.

It could snow in some places as early as January 16th.

But how long will the winter wonderland last?

Or is it just a light layer of sugar and snow in the end?

Meteorologists at least give winter sports fans hope with their weather forecast.

Snow and ice in Germany: It will "significantly improve the conditions in the winter sports areas"

It wasn't typically wintry this January.

Instead of snowball fights and snowmen, umbrellas were seen in many places in Germany.

From Monday, January 16th, it's supposed to start snowing.

Initially, the rain turned to snow above 300 to 500 meters, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

"Especially in the Eifel, in the Hunsrück and in the Sauerland, there can be 10 to 15 centimeters of fresh snow, maybe even more in some cases," said the DWD on a possible onset of winter in Germany in January.

In the lowlands it will remain mostly rainy.

Especially in the east and southeast it can still be dry and sometimes sunny at the beginning of the week.

• The winter week at a glance according to the DWD:

• Monday (16.1):

  snow above 300 to 500 meters;

  Highs: 2 to 7 degrees;

  At night: risk of ice

• Tuesday (17.1):

  northwest local snow, rain or sleet showers;

  Maximum values: 0 to 5 degrees;

  Night: smoothness

• Wednesday (18.1):

  Intermittent snowfall, especially in the Alps;

  Maximum values: 0 to 4 degrees;

  At night: moderate frost

• Thursday (19.1):

  Intermittent snowfall, especially in the Alps;

  Maximum values: 0 to 4 degrees;

  At night: moderate frost

• Friday (January 20th):

  Snowfall in the extreme west as well;

  Maximum values: -1 to 4 degrees;

  At night: frost, severe frost in the south

Weather in Germany: DWD warns of snow and ice

According to the weather forecast, temperatures throughout Germany will continue to fall over the course of the week and the snow line will fall to 200 meters.

Thus, "the conditions in the winter sports areas will also improve significantly," announces meteorologist Alban Burster from

.

And even the extreme west can look forward to snow at the end of the week.

The maximum temperatures are then zapfigen minus one degree in the south-east and four degrees in the Emsland.

The DWD warns of the return of winter.

However, the comeback should be largely short-lived.

© Hájek Ondøej Photo Studio H / dpa

At the end of the week, frost is forecast at night, and severe frost below minus ten degrees in the south.

The DWD is therefore already warning of the danger of ice from snow or freezing wet with its weather forecast for Germany throughout the week.

How long does the wintry weather stay in Germany?

– In some regions probably only briefly

So a longer snow fun?

For meteorologist Alban Burster, it looks more like a "short wintry phase with snow and frost".

According to current forecasts, the cold weather will last a little longer in the east and south.

Berlin, for example, will no longer experience double-digit plus degrees in January.

The west and south-west halves are different.

There "it's probably just a few days with a wintry flair," says Burster.

So the winter weather will last until around January 20th.

A snow cover will only form and last at medium and higher altitudes.

Before the onset of winter, rain and floods in particular are causing problems in some regions.

The cards are the same as in the run-up to the Ahr Valley flood.