Update November 17th, 2022, 10:47 a.m. CET:
The snowfall that was predicted does not appear in the latest weather forecasts anymore. But it will get very cold this coming weekend.
It is time to put on those winter tires and locate our winter coats. According to meteorologists, we need to expect slumping temperatures and sleet. The other news item is the snow that is supposed to hit Berlin on Sunday.
Berlin, November 16th, 2022. (The Berlin Spectator) — In Germany, the past few weeks were a lot warmer than they should have been at this time of the year. Now, more typical weather will be coming to Berlin, Brandenburg and other parts of Germany. Sitting in front of fireplaces, where available, will be the right activity very soon.
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Freezing Point
Berlin will come below the freezing point on Friday night and remain there until Sunday. Sleet might mess up the streets, sidewalks, our bicycles, pants and everything else on Thursday. This means we will have to clean our cute dogs after those walks before we let them jump on the sofa again. And it means we might want to use our radiators in spite of the high energy costs.
To be more precise: Berlin’s temperatures will be decreasing every day for the rest of the week. Today, 8 degrees Centigrade (46.4 degrees Fahrenheit) is the highest we will reach. On Thursday, we are supposed to be down to 7 degrees C (44. 6 degrees F), and 4 degrees C (39.2 degrees F) were forecast for Friday. Yes, these are the maximum daytime values. The latter will be at the freezing point on Saturday and increase on Sunday.
Aspen or Garmisch
Mid-next week, more snow will fall in Berlin, if the forecasters are right. Yes, it will be time to post snow pictures on Instagram and get into snowball fights. Let’s wear warm winter boots and try not to slip.
Expatriates from much warmer areas who just moved to the German capital and may not have experienced snow before: This white powder is not as scary as it might look. And the only avalanches we register here are roof avalanches. Winter weather usually is moderate, probably because Berlin is not Aspen, Chamonix, Garmisch-Partenkirchen or the Valle Nevado. The Alps are hundreds of miles away, folks.
Tires or Tyres
By the way: Germany does have winter tire rules. There is a “situational obligation”. We will have to use them in the kind of weather conditions we have to expect. All-weather tires are fine too. So is ‘tyre’, the British spelling.
Related feature: ‘Germany: When Do We Need to Install Winter Tires?’