Snow has reached a record height for the month of December in Munich, causing widespread problems in air, road and rail transport. Southern and eastern Bavaria, but also the states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria are mainly affected by the heavy snowfall. Two people died in a road accident, while there are power outages in many parts of the state. The authorities appeal to citizens to stay at home.

Snow reached 45cm in Munich on Saturday – “this has been a record for the month of December since 1933, when we started measuring snow,” explained the meteorologist at Bavarian Radio BR. The previous record was 44 cm on December 29, 1938. Overall in Bavaria, the snowfall is the heaviest in 17 years. The city’s airport has suspended operations until at least 6:00 a.m. (Sunday), with at least 760 flights canceled or diverted. Problems were also caused at Frankfurt airport, where many of the flights originally destined for Munich eventually landed. The situation is similar in the railway transport of the region, due to the large amount of snow on the tracks or fallen trees. In many places the power cables of the lines have also been cut. According to German Railways (DB), the situation is not expected to normalize before Monday afternoon. Within the next few hours, bus and tram routes in the city of Munich are expected to be gradually restored.

Representatives of the state government and the police constantly appeal to citizens “to absolutely avoid unnecessary travel” and to drive “only if it is truly unavoidable”. “Stay at home! The risk of accidents is very high,” the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria warned, noting that there are many downed trees on the roads, while the snow is slowly turning to ice as the snowfall stops. Earlier, two people lost their lives when a driver lost control of his vehicle and ended up in the opposite direction, where he collided with a passing vehicle. The two drivers were fatally injured.

“Several thousands” of households remained without power until late at night, mainly in the areas of Pendsberg, Kolbermoor, Freilassing, Eggenfelden and Regen. Rescue crews are constantly on hand to deal with emergencies.

Meanwhile, ski resorts in Germany and Austria opened as early as Friday, hoping for a more profitable year than last year. Nevertheless, access to many of them is either impossible or is carried out with serious difficulties. The ski resort of Chugspitze has been closed, as road and rail transport in the area has been suspended. For today (Sunday), however, ideal conditions for skiing are expected in the area, with sunshine and a temperature of -18 degrees Celsius, and the authorities hope to be able to restore access as soon as possible. At the same time, however, the Bavarian State Agency for the Environment warns of the risk of avalanches at an altitude of more than 1,600 meters in the Bavarian Alps.

There is also a serious risk of avalanches in mountainous areas of western Austria, at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. Yesterday Saturday, 91 people were trapped in a bar in Dornbrien, Vorarlberg, due to a landslide in the area. In Murtal, Styria, more than 20,000 households have been left without electricity. Problems are also found in the operation of mobile networks. Road transport is affected by the bad weather, and many flights at Innsbruck airport have been cancelled, as have many train routes between Tyrol and Bavaria. The authorities of the region recommend that unnecessary movements be avoided here as well.