Winter storm “Elli” swept across Germany on Friday with heavy snowfall, causing severe disruption, particularly to rail services. Deutsche Bahn suspended all long-distance train services in northern Germany until Saturday morning, while regional services were also heavily affected. The German Weather Service warned of blizzard-like snowdrifts in the north and east, as well as temporary snow and icy roads in other parts of the country. Numerous accidents were reported.
Rail traffic in the greater Hanover area was completely halted, leading to widespread cancellations and delays well beyond northern Germany. Routes to Frankfurt am Main and the Ruhr region were also affected.
Late in the afternoon, Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Achim Strauß announced that long-distance services in the north would not resume until Saturday morning. “It is mainly the severe snowdrifts that are causing us problems,” he said. There had been hope earlier in the day that services could resume in the evening, but the disruptions around Hanover were too extensive.
Significant problems were also reported in regional rail services, particularly in northern Germany and increasingly throughout eastern federal states as the day progressed. Regional train services in Lower Saxony, Bremen, and Schleswig-Holstein were partially or completely canceled. In Hamburg, S-Bahn trains were running “very irregularly” on all lines, with no service at all on some sections, according to the railway operator.
In cities including Hamburg, Berlin, and Hanover, stationary trains were made available for stranded passengers, and all ticket restrictions were lifted. Bus and tram services were also disrupted or suspended in many areas. Deutsche Bahn warned of delays and cancellations in regional services in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, as well as on routes in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, where trains had to reduce speed due to snow.
The severe weather was caused by storm system “Elli,” which approached from the west, bringing warm air from the Atlantic that collided with colder air masses over northern and eastern Germany. Due to the weather warnings, in-person school classes were canceled on Friday in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Bremen, and most of Schleswig-Holstein. Authorities and transport operators urged people to stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel.
According to the weather service, the main problems were caused by snowdrifts in the north and, in some areas, heavy snowfall of up to 15 centimeters within just a few hours elsewhere in the country. In Bavaria, freezing rain also led to hazardous road conditions. The weather service said snowfall eased in most regions, and the risk of drifting snow was expected to decrease overnight into Saturday as winds weakened inland. However, heavy snowfall of up to 50 centimeters remains possible over the weekend in the Black Forest and the Upper Allgäu region.
Road traffic was also affected by “Elli,” with numerous accidents reported. Police said most incidents resulted in minor injuries and property damage. Near Reisbach in Bavaria, a 27-year-old driver reportedly lost control of his car due to weather conditions on a rural road and collided with an oncoming vehicle, according to police in Würzburg. He and an 18-year-old passenger were killed.
In many places, trucks became stuck on highways or were involved in accidents on icy roads. Police reported incidents and, in some cases, lengthy closures on the A2 in Lower Saxony; the A1 and A24 in Schleswig-Holstein; the A9 and A72 in Saxony; and the A70 in Bavaria. In Saxony, the Technical Relief Agency said it was deployed to free stranded trucks.
Authorities, winter maintenance services, and emergency responders were on high alert nationwide. In Hamburg, where the city government said the heaviest snowfall in 15 years had already fallen before “Elli” arrived, the city cleaning service deployed more than 700 workers and 360 vehicles overnight.
At the same time, police reported that road conditions in some areas were less severe than expected. The situation was “significantly below expectations or fears,” police said in an interim assessment in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. Authorities in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, expressed similar views. In Berlin, the anticipated snow chaos also failed to materialize initially.
Many events were canceled across several federal states. Parks, zoos, and cemeteries were closed as a precaution. Bundesliga home matches scheduled for Saturday, including games by FC St. Pauli in Hamburg and SV Werder Bremen in Bremen, were also called off.
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