Only April can do that: At the weekend, temperatures of just under 30 degrees attracted people outside, and on Thursday it was even snowing in Munich.
Update from April 18th, 4:42 p.m.:
In Oberallgäu, the DWD is currently warning of snowfall until Friday, midnight. Above 1000 meters, “snowfall with amounts between 20 and 40 centimeters” is possible. It will spread smoothly. There may also be renewed snowfall and subzero temperatures in the other districts on the edge of the Alps. The DWD is also expecting 10 centimeters of fresh snow in some traffic jams.
DWD with winter forecast for the weekend
In the next few days the weather is expected to remain wintry - including sleet up to the higher lowlands and slippery conditions. The slippery conditions could lead to accidents on the road again, especially in the next few days. While Friday is expected to start mostly dry according to the forecast, it is expected to rain again later in the day. On Saturday night in the mountains and in the higher lowlands there will be more sleet or snow again. On Sunday it will be partly cloudy to partly cloudy. “In areas near the Alps, shower-like precipitation is widespread. “Sometimes there was snow even at lower altitudes,” said the DWD.
After sleet and hail: chaos of accidents on the highways
Update from April 18th, 1:50 p.m
.: Wintry weather conditions in April led to a large number of accidents in Bavaria on Wednesday and Thursday night. A sudden hailstorm led to seven accidents within ten minutes on the A9 near Bayreuth on Wednesday, the traffic police reported on Thursday. In a very short time, several centimeters of hail covered the street. The accidents resulted in three people being slightly injured and property damage amounting to around 130,000 euros.
Numerous weather-related accidents in Bavaria
Sleet and sleet also led to accidents on the highways in the Bamberg and Forchheim districts on Wednesday. A 21-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle on Autobahn 73, collided with a car driving next to him and skidded. On Autobahn 70, a 23-year-old driver skidded in sleet, crashed into the guardrail and came to a stop on the shoulder. Fortunately, there were no injuries in either accident.
Four cars also skidded in the sleet on Autobahn 9 near Ingolstadt and collided with the guard rails, the police reported on Thursday. The police suspect that improper speed was the cause of the accidents. There were no injuries and the property damage is estimated at around 60,000 euros.
Update from April 18th, 9:30 a.m
.: The winter weather in Bavaria has already had consequences on the streets on Thursday night. Sleet led to four traffic accidents on Autobahn 9 near Ingolstadt. The drivers lost control, skidded and hit the guard rails, according to police. She suspects that improper speed was the reason for the accidents. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the damage to property amounts to around 60,000 euros.
During Graupelschauer there was also an accident involving several vehicles on the A93 near Hausen in the Kelheim district. According to previously unconfirmed information from the scene of the accident, there was a collision between a BMW and a car transporter. One person was injured and was taken to hospital.
First report from Thursday, April 18th
: Munich – Since Monday, April 15th, Bavaria has been going through an impressive drop in the weather. After temperatures were close to 30 degrees over the weekend, they plummeted on Monday. There were also some serious thunderstorms. In the following days it rained a lot, sometimes hailing, and the temperatures no longer came close to exceeding 20 degrees, instead hovering around less than ten degrees. On Thursday morning, April 18th, the next surprise: snow! And not just in the mountains, quite the opposite.
DWD with snow forecast and warning of thunderstorms, hail and sleet in Bavaria
The German Weather Service (DWD) has been writing for days that the snowfall line is currently falling massively, with talk of around 600 meters. On Thursday morning, the DWD warning finally came true - thick snowflakes fell from the sky in Munich around 8 a.m. There will probably be nothing left lying there, but the view out of the window is in stark contrast to the high temperatures that were already experienced in the Free State in 2024.
In the current warning situation report, the DWD also writes of a “supply of cool and unstable sea air of polar origin” that continues from the north. And about the further weather conditions on Thursday: “From midday to the evening, individual short thunderstorms, some with sleet or small hail, as well as strong to stormy gusts of up to 60 km/h.”
(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you daily about all the important stories from Bavaria.)
Outlook for Friday and weekend – no improvement in sight
According to the DWD, it is likely to continue snowing in some areas on the night of Friday, April 19th. And in the Alps this will also remain: “In the Alps above 1000 m there will be another 5 centimeters of fresh snow until Friday night, and in some jams there will be 10 centimeters of fresh snow,” warns the DWD.
On Friday, the snowfall line will rise slightly in Bavaria over the course of the day, but rain will spread. The maximum values are four to ten degrees, writes the DWD. It will remain similar at the weekend - a lot of rain and low temperatures in the Bavarian lowlands, and occasional snow showers and snow in the higher altitudes.
(fhz)