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Germany Shivers Through Frosty Christmas as DWD Flags Ice Risk and Possible Snowy New Year

Two high‑pressure systems are driving a cold easterly flow that sets up a plausible New Year outbreak with snow reaching low elevations.

Overview

  • Germany again missed a nationwide white Christmas under the DWD definition of at least 1 cm snow cover on Dec 24–26, with only light, localized snow mainly in the south and higher terrain.
  • An easterly inflow of continental air is keeping days near or below freezing and nights very cold, with lows locally around −12 °C in the east and a sharper chill where winds freshen.
  • DWD warns of frost and slippery roads, highlighting freezing drizzle and overfreezing moisture from Friday night into the weekend, especially in NRW’s Münsterland, Ostwestfalen and the Mittelgebirge.
  • Gusts are expected in exposed areas, with roughly 60–80 km/h on mountain peaks and up to about 70 km/h along the North and Baltic Sea coasts.
  • Forecast guidance indicates a credible but model‑dependent chance of a marked winter outbreak around the turn of the year, with snowfall increasingly likely to reach lowlands.