Central Germany gets April Fooled with heavy snowfall
Residents of the central states Hesse and Thuringia were surprised to find snow ringing in the start of April on Friday, and bringing a bit of chaos to the morning commute.
Hesse and Thuringia both experienced heavy snowfall on Friday morning, which essentially shut down the Autobahn 5 in north and eastern Hesse due to traffic jams.
In Alsfeld, Hesse, a 32-year-old driver's semi-truck slid on a slippery roadway, colliding with two other trucks. The driver was seriously injured and taken to hospital, police said.
A truck collision on the A5 in Hesse. Photo: DPA.
Construction work on a roadway headed toward Frankfurt combined with the snow meant traffic jams for up to ten kilometres and snowplough crews were continuously at work. Many drivers had already fitted their cars with summer tires at the recommendation of local authorities.
Around Fulda, firefighters had to clear roads of numerous fallen trees amid strong winds and freshly fallen snow.
The central and southern parts of Thuringia were mainly affected and there were some minor traffic accidents.
At Erfurt airport, 13 centimetres of snow had piled up, according to Jens Oehmichen of the German Weather Service (DWD) in Leipzig. And the Thuringian Forest saw between seven and nine centimetres of new snow.
But further south in Bavaria, residents there found near summertime weather with temperatures reaching a high of 23.7C in Berchtesgadener Land on Thursday.
Snowfall in Thuringia on April 1st. Photo: DPA.
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Hesse and Thuringia both experienced heavy snowfall on Friday morning, which essentially shut down the Autobahn 5 in north and eastern Hesse due to traffic jams.
In Alsfeld, Hesse, a 32-year-old driver's semi-truck slid on a slippery roadway, colliding with two other trucks. The driver was seriously injured and taken to hospital, police said.
A truck collision on the A5 in Hesse. Photo: DPA.
Construction work on a roadway headed toward Frankfurt combined with the snow meant traffic jams for up to ten kilometres and snowplough crews were continuously at work. Many drivers had already fitted their cars with summer tires at the recommendation of local authorities.
Around Fulda, firefighters had to clear roads of numerous fallen trees amid strong winds and freshly fallen snow.
The central and southern parts of Thuringia were mainly affected and there were some minor traffic accidents.
At Erfurt airport, 13 centimetres of snow had piled up, according to Jens Oehmichen of the German Weather Service (DWD) in Leipzig. And the Thuringian Forest saw between seven and nine centimetres of new snow.
But further south in Bavaria, residents there found near summertime weather with temperatures reaching a high of 23.7C in Berchtesgadener Land on Thursday.
Snowfall in Thuringia on April 1st. Photo: DPA.
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