Overview
- Germany’s weather service has issued extensive official alerts for frost, icy roads and snowfall across more than 350 districts, including Orange-level warnings for marked slipperiness.
- Forecasts call for a wintry turn at year’s end, with snow in higher terrain across Berlin-Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony‑Anhalt, and in Bavaria even lowland snow in places; Alpine areas may see roughly 5–10 centimeters.
- Strong winds are expected to ramp up from Silvester into Neujahr in the north, with storm and severe gusts at coasts and on mountains; DWD meteorologist Tobias Reinartz urged caution with fireworks.
- Natural snow is forecast for the Harz, where up to about 30 centimeters are possible later in the week, and Wurmberg operators say lifts could open on January 1 or 2 if the snowfall materializes.
- Beyond the New Year, models diverge: U.S. guidance suggests a prolonged snowy, Arctic pattern while the European model favors a drier January, leaving the medium‑range outlook uncertain.