Black ice warning: Chaos on Baden-Württemberg's roads on Sunday!

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, the German Weather Service (DWD) warned of black ice in many regions of Baden-Württemberg. The weather warning was particularly valid from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m. for the cities of Stuttgart, East Württemberg, Neckar-Alb, Donau-Iller, Lake Constance-Upper Swabia, Black Forest and Upper Rhine. A low pressure area with a warm front initially caused snowfall, which later turned into freezing rain. During the day the temperature was expected to rise to up to 13 degrees.

Uncertainty remains about a return of winter weather in the Southwest. For Monday, January 6th, the DWD forecast temperatures between 11 and 15 degrees, before a cooling down with highs of between 3 and 8 degrees is expected next week. From Friday, January 10, temperatures are expected to drop to 0 to 1 degrees, with possible snowfall. There are also forecasts from the American weather model that predict frosty temperatures down to minus 20 degrees from mid-January.

Accidents and impairments caused by black ice

Originally announced winter weather led to numerous traffic problems on Sunday. Air and train travelers had to expect delays tagesschau.de reported. Many accidents were reported on the snow-covered roads, most of which only resulted in sheet metal damage and minor injuries.

In Schutterwald, a man lost control of his pickup truck and ended up in the Schutter River, but was uninjured. A police van overturned on the A81, leaving five officers slightly injured. The Konstanz police headquarters reported a total of 28 weather-related accidents since midnight. There was also a rear-end collision with a patrol car in Mannheim, which fortunately did not result in any injuries. In addition, a small van collided with a winter service vehicle on the A8, in which the passenger was slightly injured and material damage amounting to 40,000 euros was caused.

Five accidents with one person being slightly injured occurred in the Rems-Murr district, while accidents due to black ice also occurred in other districts such as Freudenstadt. The B28 between Kusterdingen and Tübingen was closed for several hours due to an accident involving a truck. In Engstingen two oncoming cars collided, luckily no injuries were reported. The Freiburg police headquarters counted around 20 traffic accidents that were minor.

There were delays at Stuttgart Airport due to aircraft de-icing, with seven flights delayed by over an hour. In addition, three flights were canceled on Saturday evening due to severe weather warnings. Deutsche Bahn recorded disruptions to long-distance traffic in the Frankfurt area, but these were resolved around 12:30 p.m. Finally, the DWD lifted the severe weather warning for Baden-Württemberg, while stormy and hurricane-like gusts were expected in the mountainous region on Sunday afternoon.