While rain and storms still dominate the weather in Germany at the weekend, winter is slowly announcing itself again. It could snow in some places as early as January 16. But how long will the winter wonderland last? Or will it just be a light layer of sugar snow in the end? Meteorologists are at least giving winter sports enthusiasts hope with their weather forecast.

It hasn't been typically wintry yet this January. Instead of snowball fights and snowmen, you saw rather umbrellas in many places in Germany. From Monday, January 16, it is now expected to start snowing. Initially, the rain will turn to snow mainly above 300 to 500 meters, according to the German Weather Service (DWD). "Especially in the Eifel, Hunsrück and Sauerland regions, there may well be 10 to 15 centimeters of fresh snow, in isolated cases perhaps even more," the DWD said of a possible onset of winter in January in Germany. In the lowlands, it would remain predominantly with rain. Especially in the east and southeast, it can still be dry and sometimes sunny at the beginning of the week.

The winter week at a glance according to DWD:

• Monday (16.1): Snow above 300 to 500 meters; highs: 2 to 7 degrees; at night: danger of slippery conditions
• Tuesday (17.1): Northwest, locally snow, rain or sleet showers; highs: 0 to 5 degrees; at night: slickness
• Wednesday (18.1): Intermittent snowfall, especially in the Alpine region; highs: 0 to 4 degrees; at night: moderate frost
• Thursday (1/19): Mainly in the Alps intermittent snowfall; highs: 0 to 4 degrees; at night: moderate frost
• Friday (Jan. 20): Snowfall also in the far west; highs: -1 to 4 degrees; at night: frost, in the south severe frost

In the course of the week, however, temperatures will continue to drop across Germany, according to the weather forecast, and the snow line will fall to 200 meters. Thus, "the conditions in the winter sports areas will also improve significantly," announces meteorologist Alban Burster from wetter.com. And also the extreme west can probably look forward to snow at the end of the week. The maximum temperatures will then be a tasty minus one degree in the southeast and four degrees in Emsland.

At the end of the week, frost is predicted at night, in the south also severe frost below minus ten degrees. The DWD therefore warns the entire week already of slippery conditions due to snow or freezing wetness with its weather forecast for Germany.

How long will the wintry weather in Germany last? - In some regions probably only briefly

So a longer snow fun? For meteorologist Alban Burster, it looks more like a "short wintry phase with snow and frost". In the east and south, the cold weather will last a little longer, according to current forecasts. Berlin, for example, will no longer experience double-digit plus degrees in January. The situation is different in the western and southwestern hemisphere. There, "it's probably just a few days with a wintry flair," says Burster. So until about January 20, the winter weather will continue. In addition, a snow cover will only form and last at medium and higher altitudes. Before winter sets in, rain and floods in particular will again cause problems for some regions. The maps are like in the run-up to the Ahr Valley flood.

Image by John from Pixabay