Dangerous conditions follow thaw
Wintry conditions exacerbated traffic problems in Germany on Monday, with fresh snow in southern regions and black ice across the country. Two deaths were reported in the north.
Snowmelt from warmer temperatures on Sunday turned to ice overnight in many regions, including the state of Lower Saxony, where two passengers in a van were killed when the driver lost control while passing and hit a tree near Gifhorn. Three other passengers in the vehicle were severely injured.
Police reported a number of other ice-related accidents along the nearby A29 motorway between Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven within just two hours.
Further north in the state of Schleswig-Holstein police also reported black ice, which left trucks stranded on motorways.
“But the road maintenance crews are working on it,“ a police spokesperson in Kiel said.
Meanwhile snow and sleet resumed in the south, with meteorologists predicting up to 60 litres of moisture per square metre in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
"There is likely to be a big thaw, which can mean big floods following snowfall," said the Meteomedia weather centre.
On Monday, morning a number of accidents were reported in the state capital of Stuttgart, though most were without injury.
But roads in Freiburg and the Black Forest region were partially impassable due to lingering snow drifts and ice.
In the neighbouring state of Bavaria dozens of accidents were reported in the cities of Augsburg, Regensburg and Würzburg. Four people were seriously injured.
In the west some 316 accidents were reported Sunday evening in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with six severe injuries. Damages reached some €1.1 million, police estimated.
Click here for The Local's weather forecast.
DPA/ka
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Snowmelt from warmer temperatures on Sunday turned to ice overnight in many regions, including the state of Lower Saxony, where two passengers in a van were killed when the driver lost control while passing and hit a tree near Gifhorn. Three other passengers in the vehicle were severely injured.
Police reported a number of other ice-related accidents along the nearby A29 motorway between Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven within just two hours.
Further north in the state of Schleswig-Holstein police also reported black ice, which left trucks stranded on motorways.
“But the road maintenance crews are working on it,“ a police spokesperson in Kiel said.
Meanwhile snow and sleet resumed in the south, with meteorologists predicting up to 60 litres of moisture per square metre in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
"There is likely to be a big thaw, which can mean big floods following snowfall," said the Meteomedia weather centre.
On Monday, morning a number of accidents were reported in the state capital of Stuttgart, though most were without injury.
But roads in Freiburg and the Black Forest region were partially impassable due to lingering snow drifts and ice.
In the neighbouring state of Bavaria dozens of accidents were reported in the cities of Augsburg, Regensburg and Würzburg. Four people were seriously injured.
In the west some 316 accidents were reported Sunday evening in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with six severe injuries. Damages reached some €1.1 million, police estimated.
Click here for The Local's weather forecast.
DPA/ka
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