This year’s Christmas festival According to the German Weather Service (DWD), it could be very cold – but probably without much snowfall. According to forecasts, there is only a chance of small amounts of snow in some areas in southern Germany.
“The likelihood of a white Christmas has decreased significantly in the last few decades,” said DWD expert Andreas Walter. In the south and in low mountain areas, a thin layer of fresh snow can still be expected in individual areas. Especially south of the Danube and in the mountains, between one and three centimeters, locally even up to five centimeters, of fresh snow accumulates.
The last time there was a snow cover of at least one centimeter on all three was in 2010
Christmas days also occurs in the German lowlands, says Walter. If you compare the 30-year periods 1961 to 1990 and 1991 to 2020, you can see a decrease in the probability of snow of 15 to 40 percent.
Local smoothness possible
The DWD predicts an average temperature of around minus 2 to minus 3 degrees over the holidays. “If we take all three days, this Christmas will probably be the coldest in 15 years,” said meteorologist Nico Bauer. This is also due to the fact that the temperatures of the past Christmas holidays were rather mild.
According to the DWD, in the morning there will be frost down to minus three degrees in many places, and up to minus six degrees in higher altitudes. Locally there may be smoothness.
In the coming days, significantly colder but dry frosty air will flow into Germany from Eastern Europe. On the night of Christmas Day, the minimum temperature drops to between minus one and minus nine degrees. The only exceptions are the North Sea islands. In the east, temperatures of up to minus twelve degrees are possible locally. On Thursday and Friday it will be sunny and dry in many places.
