AThis weekend, caution is advised due to slippery conditions caused by freezing rain or snow. At the beginning of the week it rains and thaws – the risk of flooding increases. A storm is coming on Saturday, explained Marco Manitta from the weather forecast center of the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach on Friday. The area of precipitation reaches the west of the country around midday and extends to the middle by evening. “This time it’s just rain, because with the strong south to southwest wind the temperatures rise to values between five and ten degrees,” said the meteorologist.
On Sunday night, precipitation will also reach the east, followed by showers from the west. In some valleys in the eastern low mountain ranges there is a further risk of freezing rain at temperatures around zero degrees. Otherwise it remains frost-free in many places with lows between nine and three degrees. “Wind, rain and positive temperatures are causing the snow cover to begin melting far up to higher altitudes,” said Manitta.
The thaw will continue on Sunday and into the beginning of next week. Under the influence of low pressure, several precipitation areas cross Germany with strong to stormy westerly winds and mild temperatures between 6 and 13 degrees. Even at night it stays frost-free everywhere. Rain and melting snow cause many rivers and streams to swell, especially in southern Germany.
According to forecasts, there may be a flood on the Rhine next week due to thaw and rain. The Flood Prediction Center of the State Office for the Environment in Mainz said on Friday that flooding could occur on the Upper Rhine, something that statistically happens every ten years. In this case, flooded banks are to be expected, said a spokesman for the State Office for the Environment.
It was only in mid-November that the Rhine flooded, and as a result there were restrictions on shipping traffic.
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