BERLIN (AP) – A snowstorm and strong winds hit northern and western Germany on Sunday, forcing trains to cancel trips and causing hundreds of road accidents. Police said 28 people were injured on the icy roads.
The German Meteorological Service DWD urged people to stay at home and the authorities brought the homeless to warm shelters amid sub-zero temperatures.
National railway operator Deutsche Bahn said the main rail routes between Hamburg and Hannover, Berlin and the west have been canceled due to the accumulation of snow on the tracks and transmission lines. Some train connections in the east have also been canceled, although most of the snow has fallen in the northwest.
Police in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the west of the country, said Sunday morning that they had counted 222 accidents due to bad weather since Saturday afternoon. They said two people out of 28 were seriously injured.
In the western city of Muenster, one of the hardest hit places, there was so much snow on the streets that ambulances could no longer drive and all public transport was closed. More than 30 centimeters (almost 12 inches) of snow fell, accumulating up to 1 meter (more than 3 feet) in parts, and more snow was expected to fall on Sunday.
In Wuppertal, in western Germany, firefighters had to rescue six passengers from the city’s famous elevated railway after a train stopped moving due to icy conditions. They had to climb stairs to reach people on the train and help them get off, the dpa reported.
Officials in the western city of Hagen walked the streets at night, waking up homeless people who slept outside and taking them to shelters, reported the German news agency dpa. In Berlin, the capital’s largest shelter, a city of tents on the outskirts, was cleaned up early on Saturday to ensure that people do not die of cold in sub-zero temperatures.
While the west of the country was freezing, southern Germany experienced mild spring temperatures.
The unusual difference in climate and temperature was caused by a polar vortex pushing icy Arctic air towards northern Germany at a time when a low pressure front brings on a hot, humid southwestern climate, DWD said.
In the Netherlands, snow covered much of the country, forcing the government to cancel a weekly crisis meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic. Train services have been suspended and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has warned passengers of possible flight cancellations.
National broadcaster NOS showed footage of an early morning snowball fight involving residents and police on Dam Square in central Amsterdam.
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Mike Corder contributed reporting from Wekerom, The Netherlands.