Deep Charlie brings snow and black ice: the onset of winter in Aachen!

Winter weather conditions are currently expected in the Aachen city region. It will start to snow on Wednesday evening, January 8, 2025. However, especially in the Eifel, the snowfall will turn into rain and freezing rain around midnight, while snowfall is still expected in Aachen and the northern city region. An air mass boundary, influenced by the low pressure area Charlie, ensures this weather situation. This low brings mild air currents from Brittany that meet cold air masses from polar latitudes. This results in temperature differences of up to 9 degrees within 50 kilometers.

On Thursday morning, low pressure system Charlie is expected to move on and cold air masses to take over. Widespread snowfall is forecast across the region, followed by snow showers and occasional sunshine in the afternoon. Snow depths of 10 to 20 centimeters are expected in cities such as Monschau, Hürtgenwald and Hohen Venn. Temperatures will fluctuate between minus 1 and plus 1 degrees, with up to 2 degrees possible in the northern city region. The blowing snow is expected to end on Friday and calm, sunny winter weather is expected.

Winter service and prepared measures

The high pressure influence from Beate will ensure the weather calms down over the weekend. With temperatures around zero degrees, the conditions in the North Eifel are ideal for toboggan enthusiasts. Roads in North Rhine-Westphalia and the road maintenance departments in Aachen and Simmerath are responsible for winter road maintenance in the region. There are 11 clearing and gritting vehicles available in Simmerath and 6 vehicles in Aachen. The focus is on heavily frequented roads and emergency routes, such as the B258, B266 and B399. The winter service vehicles are equipped with clearing shovels and spreading plates. Salt or brine is sprinkled; other materials such as sand and grit are not used. The master factory in Simmerath has capacity for 1,775 tons of salt and 60,000 liters of brine, while the master factory in Aachen has 500 tons of salt and 50,000 liters of brine. On snowy days, consumption of 150-170 tons is forecast in Simmerath and 20-30 tons in Aachen.

Similar winter conditions can be observed in large parts of Germany. This creates numerous dangers of black ice, such as ZDF reported. Many flights and trains have been delayed, leading to traffic accidents. The German Weather Service (DWD) lifted some level 3 severe weather warnings, while level 2 warnings remain in place, indicating "significant weather". A depression with snow and freezing rain moved from southwest to northeast, which also led to 120 cancellations out of 1,090 planned take-offs and landings at Frankfurt Airport.

The winter conditions have also led to traffic accidents in other federal states. For example, a federal police car crashed on the A81, leaving five officers slightly injured. In Freiburg, 20 traffic accidents were recorded on slippery roads, and in Rhineland-Palatinate, the police reported 17 accidents due to snow or freezing wet conditions. Further traffic accidents occurred on Sunday night, including a truck accident on Autobahn 1. On Monday, partly stormy weather as well as rain and temperatures between -2 and +9 degrees are expected.