Bavaria's Christmas: Storm, floods and avalanche danger

Storm - Bavaria's Christmas: Storm, floods and avalanche danger

There will be no white Christmas in most of Bavaria this year either. Instead, people in Bavaria will have to prepare for constant rain - with consequences. The risk of avalanches and flooding is increasing. The overview:

Usually no chance of a white Christmas

"It's been like a spell for years, snow at Christmas just doesn't seem to be possible across Germany", said a meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD). In Bavaria, it will be mild on Christmas Eve with highs of up to twelve degrees and possibly some sunshine.

However, a white Christmas is still possible in a small part of Bavaria: the DWD expects fresh snow in the low mountain ranges above 600 to 800 meters. In the Alps, there will be up to ten centimetres of fresh snow above 1,000 meters, and at higher altitudes in the Bavarian Forest it could be between ten and 20 centimetres.

According to the DWD, the storm depression "Zoltan" has now moved on to the Baltic States, but the low-pressure influence in Germany remains. This is also evident in Bavaria: In the lowlands, there will be repeated gusts of wind or squalls on Saturday, especially at midday and in the afternoon, as well as generally heavy squalls in the mountains. At higher altitudes in the Alps and the Bavarian Forest, the weather service is also expecting hurricane-force gusts at times, with some gale-force gusts on the peaks.

River levels rise

In view of heavy rainfall, the flood situation in Bavaria will remain tense over the next few days. The water levels north of the Danube have already risen sharply in many places, according to the Flood Information Service (HND) on Saturday.

Precipitation is expected to fall mainly in Upper Franconia and the Upper Palatinate - these regions are already affected by flooding, according to the HND. According to forecasts, water levels will continue to rise over the weekend, particularly there and in the Bavarian Forest.

In parts of Upper and Lower Franconia and in the Upper Palatinate, message level three (warning of flooding for built-up areas) was reached on Saturday morning. In the district of Lichtenfels, the district road between Wiesen and Döringstadt was temporarily closed due to flooding, as the Lichtenfels district office announced on Saturday.

Avalanche risk increased

Fresh snow and gale-force winds are increasing the risk of avalanches at higher altitudes in the Bavarian mountains. In some areas, there is even a high risk of avalanches at the weekend, in some cases with warning level four out of five, according to the Bavarian State Office for the Environment.

Specifically, the avalanche risk is high at high altitudes in the Berchtesgaden Alps, the Zugspitze region and on the Allgäu main ridge. There is also considerable danger in lower areas, which is level three on the five-point scale. In areas with high precipitation, avalanches could take on large dimensions and endanger exposed traffic routes, according to the state office. Over the Christmas period with higher temperatures, the situation in the areas at risk will remain tense.

Storm "Zoltan": hardly any serious damage

However, Bavaria has already weathered storm "Zoltan". Emergency services were called out several times during the night to Saturday, but it was generally calm, according to the police headquarters in the state. There were no serious injuries in connection with the storm. The damage was also limited.

There was one exception in Middle Franconia: due to strong gusts of wind, a transporter carrying around 85 pigs overturned. An estimated two thirds of the animals died or had to be euthanized by a vet, said a police spokeswoman. The driver was uninjured in the accident in Windelsbach (Ansbach district) on Saturday night.

People in Bad Abbach in the district of Kelheim, who wanted to go shopping shortly before Christmas Eve, also felt the effects of the storm: Strong winds had blown off large parts of a supermarket roof. According to the police, the damage was in the six-figure range. Emergency services were deployed for several hours and the store remained closed throughout Saturday.

In many places, ski resorts also remained temporarily closed during "Zoltan's" storms, for example at Sudelfeld near Bayrischzell and in the Spitzingsee area. The lifts on the Zugspitze and in the surrounding ski resorts near Garmisch-Partenkirchen were also closed due to the storm.

There are still restrictions in some places: In Munich, several Christmas markets had to change their opening times, for example the Tollwood Winter Festival only opened at 3pm on Saturday instead of 11am. The Winterzauber Gans am Wasser remained completely closed on that day. In addition, municipal cemeteries remained closed, as announced by the City of Munich. However, burials were carried out as planned.

The Munich Building Department warned against entering parks and green spaces. Nymphenburg Palace Park remained closed until Christmas Eve for safety reasons, according to a statement.

Full trains - but the streetcars are running

But there is also good news: Rail services in Bavaria ran as planned over the Christmas weekend despite the storms. There were no major disruptions, said a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson on Saturday morning. There was a high volume of travel on Saturday, particularly at Munich Central Station. This is "to be expected for Christmas", said the spokesperson. Due to the upcoming holidays, long-distance trains will be very busy.

Message from the City of Munich on the storm situation Police report for Lower Bavaria DWD weather situation for Bavaria, as of 12.43 p.m. DWD warning situation report for Bavaria, as of 10.30 a.m. Avalanche situation report for Saturday, as of Friday, 6 p.m. Flood situation report from the HND, as of 10.30 a.m. Tollwood Festival message