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This weekend, Germany is facing the biggest snow chaos in years - but only in the north.

While the German Weather Service is expecting a blizzard and freezing cold there, there should be spring-like foehn in the south.

Deutsche Bahn warns of train cancellations and delays.

The north is threatened with up to 40 centimeters of fresh snow, as well as "enormous snow drifts" from storms.

According to the DWD, the region from Emsland and Münsterland to the Harz region will be particularly affected from Saturday evening.

In the Ruhr area, the Siegerland, in Central Hesse and Upper Franconia, however, there is freezing rain from Sunday afternoon to Monday, which could result in a layer of ice several centimeters thick.

On Saturday afternoon, the DWD warned of extreme snowfall and drifting snow in parts of Germany this weekend until Monday night.

Especially in the north of central Germany, 15 to 40 centimeters of fresh snow and drifts of snow up to over a meter can be expected from Saturday evening to Monday night, the DWD announced in an "official hazard notification".

Roads and railways could become impassable due to extreme snowdrifts.

There is a risk of snow breakage.

"Only drive with winter equipment and generally avoid driving!", It said in the warning message.

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Deutsche Bahn informed: "There may be delays and train cancellations." Passengers who wanted to postpone trips planned for the weekend because of the announced onset of winter in northern Germany could use long-distance tickets already booked "either flexibly or free of charge" up to and including seven days after the end of the disruption.

Because of the forecast, there will be no long-distance traffic between Kiel and Hamburg, Hamburg and Lübeck and between Hamburg and Westerland on Saturday and Sunday, the railway said.

The connection between Hamburg and Rostock / Stralsund / Binz is also affected by the adjustments.

Here the timetable is thinned out considerably on the weekend.

Only individual intercity trains run.

Impairments are also to be expected in regional traffic, for example in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Temperature gradient of around 20 degrees between northern and southern Germany

Meteorologists speak of a “memorable event with a rarity value” - and draw comparisons to the winter of 1978/79, when the transport, supply and communication network collapsed during a snow catastrophe in northern Germany.

In January 1979, cars completely snowed in Loose / Schleswig-Holstein

Source: dpa / Werner Schilling

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Germany faces unusual weather extremes.

While cold storms are raging in the north, there should be spring-like foehn in the south.

Experts expect a temperature gradient of around 20 degrees between northern and southern Germany.

According to the DWD, the region from Emsland and Münsterland to the Harz region will be particularly affected by the winter weather from Saturday evening.

In the Ruhr area, the Siegerland, in Central Hesse and Upper Franconia, however, there is freezing rain from Sunday afternoon to Monday, which could result in a layer of ice several centimeters thick.

In Lower Saxony, for example, the fire brigade and disaster control, police, transport companies and railways, road maintenance and clearance services were preparing for a challenging weekend.

The meteorologists expected that the southern part of Lower Saxony will be particularly affected.

The people there should be prepared for the fact that the power fails and the house cannot be left because of black ice, as Franz Molé, head of the DWD's forecast and advice center, said.

Berlin provides additional places for the homeless

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Snow showers and frosty temperatures are also expected in Saxony-Anhalt.

"It starts relatively calmly, but we expect a very turbulent weekend," said a spokesman for the German Weather Service (DWD).

It looks similar in Saxony.

The Harz National Park Administration has warned against entering the forests.

A visit to the forest at the weekend could be life-threatening, according to a warning posted on the Internet.

And in Berlin, too, it will be frosty - with temperatures of up to minus eight degrees during the day, the nights should be even colder.

The capital is therefore providing additional warm places for the homeless.

The people in the south, on the other hand, can look forward to spring-like temperatures at the weekend.

According to the German Meteorological Service, low pressure areas over Western Europe direct very mild air to Bavaria.

Foehn sets in at the Alps, which means temperatures of up to 15 degrees are possible there on Saturday.

In Baden-Württemberg, too, meteorologists expect maximum values ​​of six to eleven degrees.