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Please drive carefully: The German Weather Service warns of heavy snowfall and snow drifts.
Image: dpa
Fresh snow, freezing rain, blustery winds, icy temperatures - today, Friday, will be anything but a cozy day. Parts of Germany are expected to be hit hard by a storm depression.
Storm "Elli" is bringing lots of snow and freezing cold to parts of Germany today. There is also a risk of black ice in some places. The effects of the storm low can already be felt. The overview:
The German Weather Service (DWD) is expecting "snowfall from the southwest, heavy in places", which will spread as far as the Elbe. There will also be snow drifts in places. In central and southern Germany, freezing rain is expected in places.
Snow drifts are possible in stormy easterly winds, which could lead to major obstructions on traffic routes, the weather service warned. In the south and west of Germany, the snow is expected to quickly change to rain in the morning - with winds that are also stormy, but blowing from south-westerly directions. There is then a local risk of black ice.
In a strip from the North Sea to the east, around 10 or regionally up to 20 centimetres of fresh snow may accumulate. The DWD has currently issued a severe weather warning (level three out of four) for the region from East Frisia to Hamburg and large parts of Schleswig-Holstein.
Driving can be highly dangerous in these weather conditions. The DWD warns of slippery roads in many places. The first accidents have already occurred during the night due to the icy conditions. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, a bus slid down a slope. According to the local police, three people suffered minor injuries. However, the situation centers in the federal states spoke in the early hours of the morning of a generally calm course on the roads with rather minor accidents.
In some places, bus services were suspended or warned of restrictions on Friday as a precaution.
Deutsche Bahn expects delays and train cancellations to be possible on long-distance services until Saturday. If you can, you should postpone your journey. Tickets that have already been purchased can also be used at a later date. In some places, regional train services have been canceled as a precaution.
There had already been train cancellations on some long-distance routes in the evening. The routes affected included Copenhagen-Hamburg, Westerland/Kiel-Hamburg, Binz/Stralsund/Rostock-Berlin, Norddeich/Emden-Hannover/Ruhr area.
The railroads have also made preparations: In Bavaria, for example, around 8,140 of the more than 10,000 points can be heated to prevent them from freezing, according to DB. In the event of snow drifts, heavy locomotives would drive over snow-covered tracks and pull a track for following trains, said a spokeswoman. However, even with the best possible preparation, the company is not immune to all weather conditions, it said on Thursday.
Ferry services on the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony have also largely come to a standstill. Several islands are currently inaccessible by ship - including Langeoog, Spiekeroog, Norderney and Wangerooge. The main problem is the expected strong easterly wind. It is pushing the water away from the coast, meaning that ferries can only operate to a limited extent or not at all.
Snow-free, at least for some pupils: In Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Bremen and parts of Schleswig-Holstein, regular school operations are canceled across the board. According to the responsible authorities, there is distance learning and emergency care for younger children in some cases. The reason for the closures is usually that the school buses are not running and a safe journey cannot be guaranteed.
In some regions in Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Berlin, in-person lessons are also canceled or parents can excuse their children from school. In some places, daycare centers and kindergartens are also affected.
09.01.2026, 06:00
09.01.2026, 06:05
