The year comes to an end with a wild mix of weather
There will be no white Christmas this year, instead the holidays will be a wet and gray affair. Showers and storms dominate between the years, with only a few sporadic sunny spells. The high water levels also remain a problem.
Floods threaten some parts of Germany on Christmas Eve. From the north-west to the south-west, numerous water levels reached levels 3 and 4 out of a total of 4. This means that inhabited areas on numerous smaller rivers and streams are acutely threatened or already flooded. The situation is even more relaxed on the larger rivers. However, the coming days will also see the worst flooding of the year here, for example on the Middle and Lower Rhine or on the Elbe.
This is also due to the fact that it has been raining significantly more since the end of October. Recently, there have been hardly any breaks and all the greater amounts of rain - a weather situation that is once again completely entrenched. This means that the soil has been completely saturated to oversaturated for some time now. Every drop of rain ends up in the rivers. In addition to the full soils and the water from the clouds, there is now a heavy thaw in the mountains. This had already supported the previous wave of flooding in the south and west of Germany. Now it is mainly affecting the area around the Harz Mountains, the Thuringian Forest, the Bavarian low mountain ranges and especially the Ore Mountains. There was even another heavy snowfall there on December 23, which ended up as water in the rivers 24 hours later.
In the south, things are now generally calmer. The situation on the Danube remains relaxed and there is not much rain in the Bavarian low mountain ranges either, especially from Boxing Day onwards. The situation is different further northwest. Although the amount of precipitation will decrease and there will be breaks between the rainfall, it will not be completely dry.
In the northwest of the country, another 20 to 60 liters will fall by the middle of the week, and even after that it won't be dry. There is also the question of how well the flood protection systems are working. Not only the soil, but also some dykes are completely softened and threaten to break. At the same time, the situation is very confusing due to the many locations.
Monday: Mostly gray Christmas Day
Christmas Day still looks gray and wet for many. On the coasts, however, there will be a few rays of sunshine and much longer dry spells. There will even be a bit of sunshine in Münsterland, southern Lower Saxony and Saxony. And it's also really nice towards the High Rhine, Lake Constance and the edge of the Alps. The weather will be mild, with highs mostly around 10 degrees, sometimes around 15 degrees.
Tuesday: Split Boxing Day
On Boxing Day, it's really great from the Danube southwards. In the north, sunny spells are possible between the showers. But once again a rough wind will blow.
Wednesday: Rain in the north and west
Calm is in sight in the south the following day. There it will remain calm and often quite sunny. In the center and north, there will be showers from time to time, which could bring large amounts of rain from North Rhine-Westphalia to Lower Saxony. At the same time, it will become stormier again.
Thursday will be stormy
The next stormy depression worthy of the name is on the agenda for Thursday. This will be felt throughout the country. Squalls, possibly even severe squalls are possible, especially from the west to the northeast. On the coasts and in the mountains, gale-force gusts are at least likely, but not yet certain. It will also remain windy to stormy afterwards, possibly even on New Year's Eve. Only in the south will it be mostly calm.
Friday will remain changeable
Away from the south, it will remain changeable on Friday due to the storm depression. And then it will become more uncertain. Snow may again mix in from the north. At least it will be a little cooler there. A trend that could spread to the whole country by New Year's Eve.
Read also:
- Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
- "Zoltan" sweeps across the country - disruptions to rail traffic
- "Zoltan" brings masses of water, rail chaos and suspected tornadoes
- Heavy rain and snow expected after storm depression
Despite the international community's concerns about climate change, this year's extreme weather events have proven to be particularly challenging. The holiday season is being marred by floods in Germany, with regions like Bavaria and Saxony seeing record-high water levels. This unfavorable weather pattern is expected to continue into the new year, bringing more rain and potential storms to many parts of Europe.
Source: www.ntv.de
