Icy Scandinavian cold comes to Germany
Winter in November means business. Even before the meteorological start of winter on December 1, it is serving up freezing temperatures - all over the country.
Low pressure system Oliver, which has already made the start of the new week a volatile one with plenty of rain, snow and slippery roads, has moved on to south-eastern Europe. This cleared the way for cold polar air from Scandinavia, where it has been deep winter for weeks. This air mass is drier than recently, but also a little colder. Temperatures today (Tuesday) will not exceed -2 to +6 degrees and will feel even colder with strong winds from the north, namely -5 to -10 degrees. The snowfall will mainly retreat to the south-east of Germany.
It will remain wintry cold over the next few days. On Wednesday, temperatures will range between -3 degrees in the Ore Mountains and +5 degrees on the Upper Rhine, and between -3 and +4 degrees on Thursday. The perceived temperatures will continue to be significantly lower. Not much can be done without a hat, scarf and gloves. In addition, it will snow again and again - on Wednesday mainly around the low mountain ranges up to the Baltic Sea, on Thursday in the south and north. There will also be sleet in the west.
And then winter really begins. On Friday, December 1, the meteorological start of winter, new snowfall will occur from southwest to northeast. It will be somewhat milder in the south, where rain will also fall in places. The maximum temperatures will not change much, ranging between -4 and +4 degrees.
For a change, the weekend is likely to remain mainly dry with only a few showers. Gaps in the clouds will still be rather lucky and the little bit of sunshine won't change the fact that it will remain cold with temperatures only slightly above zero at most and permafrost at higher altitudes. The wind chill effect also remains unchanged, lowering the perceived temperatures to between -3 and -10 degrees. It gets even icier. This is because temperatures plummet at night.
Roads and paths can be slippery
The whole country will be freezing cold from Wednesday night with lows between 0 degrees on the North Sea and -10 degrees in the Ore Mountains and Bavarian Forest. Only on the North Sea islands and in the far south on Friday will temperatures be just in the positive range. The frosty nights will continue at the weekend and, like the days, will appear colder than the thermometers indicate. There is still no end in sight to the early winter.
The roads and paths may be slippery throughout the week. Especially during the morning rush hour, there is an increased risk of slipping and accidents due to freezing wetness and snowfall.
The extreme weather conditions from Scandinavia have resulted in international weather patterns, bringing unprecedented snowfall to parts of Germany. Despite the upcoming meteorological start of winter on December 1, temperatures are expected to remain below freezing, making it necessary to bundle up with hats, scarfs, and gloves.
Source: www.ntv.de
