Weather - Full of snow - "The whole city is a 30 zone"
The constant snowfall in the far north has once again covered the streets, parks and squares of Hamburg with a thick layer of snow, transforming them into a winter wonderland. This pleased some and annoyed others: Drivers and passengers on buses and trains had to be patient, especially during rush hour. "It was very tense today," said a spokeswoman for the traffic control center in Hamburg on Tuesday.
The roads were "pretty full" both in the morning and in the afternoon and there were many accidents. "But fortunately nothing serious, but a lot of metal." Although there was less traffic on the roads overall, it was very slow everywhere due to the weather and the restrictions caused by the accidents and cars that had stopped. "The entire city was a 30 km/h zone today." Buses and trains were also traveling much slower than usual in the Hanseatic city in the morning.
The fire department had not yet had to respond to any weather-related incidents by the afternoon, according to a spokesperson. "However, there are certainly more accidents involving falls today than without snow - but we don't have any figures."
For the city cleaning staff and residents, the incessant snowfall meant one thing above all: constant shoveling and clearing. The street clearers from the city's cleaning department have therefore been out and about since the early morning. "There are 725 employees with 280 vehicles on duty," posted the city cleaning service on the X platform. Team Orange has been back on winter service duty since 2.30 am. All road users were asked to take care and residents were reminded of their duty to grit. Many a resident could be seen shoveling in the morning.
Hamburg Airport also presented an unusual picture. The runways were covered in a layer of snow in the morning and large snow clearing vehicles were in action. This did not have any major consequences for air traffic. At most, there could be slight delays due to the weather, a spokesperson told the German Press Agency. However, there were still the canceled flights from Munich. The airport had suspended flight operations there on Tuesday morning due to freezing rain.
The German Weather Service is expecting further widespread snowfall in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, with fresh snowfall of 3 to 8 centimetres, and in some cases up to 15 centimetres, expected by Wednesday morning. The snowfall will then subside during the course of Wednesday night.
DWD Tweets from the city cleaning service
Read also:
- Despite the heavy snowfall, many drivers and passengers in Hamburg endured long waits on buses and trains during rush hour, finding the traffic situation quite challenging.
- The constant snowfall transformed Hamburg into a beautiful winter scene, but the thick layer of snow also led to numerous accidents on the roads, causing delays and inconvenience.
- Just like the city cleaning staff, many residents in Hamburg spent their mornings shoveling snow, ensuring their streets were passable and following their duty to grit the paths.
- Hamburg Airport was equipped with large snow clearing vehicles to remove the snow layer from the runways, ensuring minimal disruptions to air traffic, except for some flight cancellations due to freezing rain in Munich.
Source: www.stern.de
