Portions of
Germany and the Alps will face bouts of snowfall and slippery travel beginning Tuesday night and lasting through the middle of the week.A cold front will sweep through central Europe during this time frame, bringing falling temperatures and a return of wintry precipitation to the region.While precipitation will begin in the form of rain for places like Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich, Germany, as well as Zurich, Switzerland, a transition to snow is expected from Tuesday night into Wednesday as temperatures drop.
Snow will generally accumulate in the higher elevations above 457 meters (1,500 feet), but there could be some snow that mixes in with the rain in the lower elevations, with accumulations generally less than 3 centimeters (1 inch), according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.Accumulations will generally be confined to grassy or elevated surfaces across the lower elevations.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPRoad conditions will generally be wet even during the first few hours of snowfall due to prior mild conditions allowing warmth to be stored up in the pavement.However, as snow continues to fall and temperatures start to drop, slippery conditions can develop on roadways. Motorists are urged to use caution, especially during the overnight and early morning hours when it is difficult to see icy conditions.Snow showers and flurries will persist across central and southern Germany and spread into portions of Poland during the nighttime hours of Wednesday.The heaviest snowfall and greatest risk of travel delays will be across the Alps. Roads to ski resorts across the region may be closed, and the risk of avalanches could increase due to the fluctuating temperatures and heavy snowfall."Snowfall in the Alps will be 30-90 centimeters (1-3 feet) with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 122 centimeters (4 feet) into the end of the week," Roys said.These totals include the snowfall expected Tuesday night into Wednesday, as well as additional snow from a new storm set to arrive by Thursday.This new storm is expected to bring yet another round of light snowfall to the lower elevations of central and southern Germany as well.It's been an active several weeks for storms in Europe following windstorms Dennis and Ciara. On Sunday, another round of stormy weather forced festival organizers in Germany to cancel carnival parades on short notice, the Associated Press reported.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.