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Germany Faces Widespread Black-Ice Disruptions as ‘Gunda’ Brings Freezing Rain

A warm front is driving rain onto frozen surfaces, producing dangerous ice that forecasters expect to subside as milder air moves in by midweek.

Overview

  • DWD warns of a severe freezing‑rain and black‑ice situation across large parts of Germany on Monday, with elevated risk lingering into Tuesday in some regions.
  • North Rhine‑Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen shifted to distance learning for Monday to avoid hazardous school commutes, with exceptions on the East Frisian islands.
  • Deutsche Bahn lowered maximum speeds on the HannoverFrankfurt, WolfsburgBerlin and Cologne–Frankfurt high‑speed sections, and ICEs between Berlin and Frankfurt are skipping Braunschweig and Hildesheim.
  • Frankfurt Airport canceled 98 of 1,052 scheduled flights early in the day and advised passengers to check flight status and allow extra time as de‑icing and runway clearing continue.
  • ADAC and officials urged people to avoid non‑essential travel, traffic slowed on motorways in the west with reported accidents, the freezing‑rain band is tracking east through the day, and forecasts point to improvement toward midweek.