Snowfall and ice have caused hundreds of traffic accidents in parts of Germany, some of them fatal, as well as delays on public transportation. Meteorologists say more snow is on the way, raising the chance of a White Christmas in some parts of the country, but also making for treacherous conditions on the roads. 

Snow, freezing rain and black ice cause accidents in Germany

The weather has suddenly felt very wintry in parts of Germany. Heavy snowfall and sudden bouts of freezing rain caused numerous traffic accidents in northern and southern regions of the country on Friday. At least two people have died and many more have ended up in hospital. In the majority of incidents, luckily, most people suffered only a shock. 

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a 19-year-old driver died in a head-on collision with another car. The other driver was also seriously injured. In Stade in Lower-Saxony, a 15-year-old passenger was killed yesterday afternoon. It appears that the father, who was driving, lost control of the car on the slippery road surface. 

In Schleswig-Holstein alone, snowfall was responsible for at least 190 traffic accidents. Deutsche Bahn was also forced to cancel and delay a number of regional and long-distance trains. By Friday, normal service had largely resumed. 

There were also freezing conditions and black ice in southern Germany. On the A6 in Bavaria, near Amberg, a particularly treacherous patch of road caused nine accidents involving 20 cars, and several injuries. A further 45 accidents were reported by police in Lower Bavaria. 

White Christmas on the cards for some regions of Germany

The cold and wet weather is set to continue on Friday and into the holiday weekend - meaning that some parts of Germany can look forward to, at least a little, snow on Christmas Eve and perhaps even Christmas Day. 

The German Weather Service (DWD) is predicting light snowfall for a number of regions on Friday, covering the Uckermark to Western Pomerania. On Christmas Eve night, the snowy conditions should spread to Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia, and southern Saxony-Anhalt, meaning many of us could wake up to a sprinkling of white on Christmas morning! 

For Christmas Day, the DWD is predicting a mixed picture: cloudy and rainy in southern Germany; a chance of snowfall across the middle half, from the Ore Mountains to Westphalia; and a bathing of glorious sunshine, with chilly temperatures barely above zero degrees, in the north. 

There will be a risk of black ice over most of the weekend, and snowfall can quickly make driving conditions dangerous, so if you are heading anywhere over the Christmas weekend do take care on the roads. Otherwise we wish you a merry weekend, walking in a winter wonderland!