Snow and freezing rain caused numerous accidents and major traffic disruptions across Germany on Sunday and Monday. According to authorities, most incidents resulted only in property damage, though some people sustained minor injuries. Public transport was also affected: in Berlin, no trams were running on Monday morning, and in Potsdam, the bus network was suspended. Several districts in Bavaria and Lower Saxony closed schools on Monday.
Baden-Württemberg saw the highest concentration of accidents on Sunday evening. In the Rems-Murr district alone, police reported 44 weather-related crashes. The A8 motorway between Stuttgart and Munich was completely shut down for several hours after multiple cars and trucks were unable to continue on uphill stretches and had to be towed.
Thuringia also recorded around 30 accidents late Sunday after snowfall landed on icy roads. In Erfurt, police reported 19 black-ice accidents on Sunday evening. By Monday morning, icy conditions had shifted toward Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Berlin, and Saxony-Anhalt, according to the German Weather Service. In the area covered by the Brandenburg East Police Directorate, eleven early-morning accidents were attributed to slick winter roads.
Berlin’s streets were also extremely icy on Monday morning. The city’s waste management service reported that heavy overnight rain had washed away some of the road salt. Parks and palaces managed by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg remained closed in both Berlin and Brandenburg. The foundation warned that partially frozen ground could lead to dangerous ice formation.
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