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Germany Braces for Black Ice as Deep Freeze Turns to Snow and Freezing Rain

DWD warns of black ice from Sunday night due to freezing rain on subzero surfaces.

Overview

  • A severe early cold spell continues with nationwide DWD frost alerts; temperatures fell to −20.3°C on the Zugspitze and around −10 to −15°C in valleys and higher basins.
  • Precipitation spreads from the west Sunday into Monday, with freezing rain likely especially from the Palatinate into southern Bavaria where DWD flags high black‑ice risk with local severe‑weather potential.
  • Snow is expected in several regions: up to around 10 cm in the Bavarian Forest and wintery roads in the northeast on Monday, with lighter snow reaching Hamburg and Schleswig‑Holstein Sunday night before turning to rain.
  • Regional forecasts highlight hazardous travel in Baden‑Württemberg, Bavaria, NRW, Berlin‑Brandenburg, and the north, as early snow flips to rain on frozen surfaces; strong gusts affect the North Sea coast.
  • Short‑term drivers include departing Hoch Zuleika and incoming Tief Ulf after Tief Talat’s cold push; models also point to a separate midweek snow event in the south (often 10–20 cm, locally more in some runs) and meteorologists monitor a possible early polar‑vortex disturbance that raises, but does not guarantee, further cold episodes.