Overview
- ECMWF and ICON runs, echoed by DWD outlooks, favor a late-December influx of Arctic-continental air with widespread frost and some snow signals, especially in southern, eastern and higher areas.
- GFS keeps a milder Atlantic influence longer, and ensemble spreads remain large, leaving timing and the extent of any snow still in question.
- DWD warns of an east to northeast wind with strong coastal gusts and pronounced windchill, particularly along the Baltic and North Sea shores.
- Meteorologists caution that warm soils and marginal temperatures could limit accumulations and shorten any brief snow cover, with better odds on higher ground and in Bavaria.
- Some scenarios suggest the coldest Christmas since 2010 with very low nighttime values in cold-air basins, but experts stress this outcome is not yet locked in.