Overview
- Germany’s coastal surge peaked at 1.5–2.0 meters above mean high water along North Frisia and the Elbe, flooding Hamburg’s Fischmarkt, with further high water expected today but no second storm surge forecast, according to BSH.
- The DWD maintains alerts for hazardous winter weather, warning of coastal gusts up to about 100 km/h and isolated short winter thunderstorms with graupel.
- Ferry operations were disrupted, with Helgoland services canceled and routes to Föhr and Amrum and several Lower Saxony lines delayed, while Wilhelmshaven urged drivers to avoid harbor parking.
- Snow and ice have spread widely from NRW and Hesse to Berlin-Brandenburg and Saxony, leading to multiple crashes and stranded lorries, as forecasters expect around 5 cm in northern ranges and up to 20 cm in the Allgäu.
- ECMWF model runs suggest the cold could persist for days to weeks, but other guidance points to a shorter episode, leaving the event’s duration uncertain.