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Snow and ice warnings cripple Munich, Frankfurt airports

January 17, 2024

Severe snow and freezing rain warnings are in effect for most of the south and west of Germany. The country's two biggest airports preemptively cut hundreds of flights.

https://p.dw.com/p/4bLfJ
A passenger plane being deiced on the runway at Munich International Airport prior to takeoff. January 17, 2024.
Munich and Frankfurt airports were fighting losing battles on Wednesday trying to keep their runways and the planes serviceableImage: Matthias Balk/dpa/picture alliance

Frankfurt Airport cut around 570 flights, roughly half of its passenger services, on Wednesday amid severe snow and ice warnings for western and southern Germany in particular. 

To the south at Munich International Airport in Bavaria, 254 flights, more than a third of those scheduled for the day, had already been called off early on Wednesday morning. 

Ice from freezing rain, viewed close up, on a street in Munich; in the background the headlights of an approaching car shine. Photo from early on January 17, 2024.
Rain fell overnight in Munich and froze, leaving perilous conditions early in the morningImage: Wolfgang Maria Weber/picture alliance

Meanwhile, the smaller hub servicing Saarbrücken, near Germany's western border to France, closed its doors altogether for the day. 

Snowfall and freezing rain in Germany: Joscha Weber reports

Severe snow and ice warnings for much of west and south

The city of Saarbrücken woke to some of the earliest effects of the freezing and wet weather, as freezing rain rendered parts of the city center practically impassable for pedestrians and motorists alike early on Wednesday. 

People struggle to walk on roads and sidewalks caked in a thin layer of ice after overnight rain in central Saarbrücken. January 17, 2024.
Saarbrücken's streets were particularly perilous early on WednesdayImage: Becker Bredel/picture alliance

Police in the small state of the Saarland around Saarbrücken said that by lunchtime they had registered around 100 road traffic incidents in the bad weather, including a few in which people sustained injuries, but none of them severe.

A local worker grabbing a sack from a truck laden with salt, ready to spread it on the pavement. Saarbrücken, Germany, January 17, 2024.
Salt was the order of the morning in Saarbrücken to render the sidewalks less slipperyImage: Becker Bredel/picture alliance

The German Weather Service (DWD) issued its second most severe cold weather warning for all the southern half of Germany, and its highest possible alert level for a spit of land around Saarbrücken on the French border.

"[Inbound] from the southwest and south [are] partly extreme weather conditions. Notable snowfalls will persist through Thursday in places," the DWD's national weather warning summary read. 

"While areas north of the [River] Main ... will receive an orderly smattering of snow, in the south ... sometimes powerful freezing rain will fall," the weather summary said. "Unnecessary car journeys should definitely be avoided in these areas." 

Gritting services had been out in force overnight across the country trying to prepare the road network for the chilly day ahead. 

A gritting truck on the A7 Autobahn or highway in southwestern Germany, near Ellwangen. Overnight January 16/17, 2024.
Image: Jason Tschepljakow/dpa/picture alliance

The fire department for Nuremberg in Bavaria used a common local saying urging caution to greet followers on social media, noting that several schools in the area had called off classes and advising people to check local authorities' websites for more information. 

Weather forecasts currently predict a return to more normal conditions by Thursday with the DWD weather service saying that by the weekend "we can look forward to widespread cold, wintery weather with sunshine."

msh/lo (AP, dpa, Reuters)

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