While in some places people are already tobogganing and skiing, the first weekend in Advent also brings dangers. In the far north of Europe it was even too cold for winter sports enthusiasts.
Offenbach – snow above and wet below – this weather distribution should remain in Germany in the coming days.
At higher altitudes, a few ski fans were already drawn to the slopes on the first weekend of Advent. Further down, motorists had to struggle with the wintry road conditions in many places.
On the night of Sunday there were accidents with injuries in several federal states. In Baden-Wuerttemberg and Hesse, it crashed on the late Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, according to the local police headquarters, often on the slippery road. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, two women were seriously injured in an accident on the snow-covered A20 on Saturday evening. The driver lost control of the car.
The German Weather Service (DWD) expects unstable and wet and cold weather in the coming days – above about 300 to 400 meters consistently snowfall. The maximum temperatures on Monday are 0 to 5 degrees. According to the DWD, on Tuesday there can sometimes even be snow in lower elevations – at least in the morning. In the course of the day, however, the snow line is expected to rise again. The maximum temperatures are likely to be 1 to 6 degrees, in the northwest at 6 to 8 degrees, in the higher mountains around freezing point.
In many places it already looked like a winter wonderland on the first weekend in Advent. Snow fell on the almost 1215 meter high Fichtelberg. The highest point in Saxony had already been “covered in sugar” for days, but it was the first snow that remained, at minus five degrees Celsius, according to the DWD.
Ski fans on the slopes
In Winterberg in the Sauerland, operations started with two lifts. The first ski fans took advantage of the offer on Saturday morning. For the weekend, two slopes were initially prepared, as a spokeswoman for the ski area reported. With artificially generated snow, an initially very limited operation is to start before the official start of the season in Winterberg. On the night of Saturday the first real snow had also fallen.
Further north – in the Finnish town of Raku – winter sports enthusiasts had problems with the extremely low temperatures. Less than minus 20 degrees Celsius were measured at the World Cup location on Sunday morning. The start of the World Cup pursuit race for cross-country skiers has therefore been postponed by more than half an hour. The public broadcaster YLE even reported minus 33.5 degrees elsewhere in Finland on Saturday evening. dpa
