Latest twist: The new low point 🥶
Frost alert on Epiphany morning
The first workday after the holidays begins in many cities with sub-zero temperatures. Polar maritime air has blanketed large parts of the country in an icy silence overnight; In many places, thermometers don't rise above freezing even during the day. Especially in clear valleys, the snow cover radiates away any stored heat – a perfect recipe for the most severe frost.
While commuters are still scraping ice off their cars, meteorologists are already warning of “ice days” when even the high temperatures will remain below zero. In northern and western Germany, a mix of snow flurries and freezing rain is causing slippery conditions. But the real cold awaits further south.
Latest twist: The new low point 🥶
The Swabian Alps are becoming a deep freeze.
At an altitude of 900 meters in Meßstetten, the thermometer plummeted to a frigid -17.7 degrees Celsius – the lowest officially recorded temperature so far this winter. Leutkirch was only a fraction warmer at -17.6 degrees. The entire southwest is reporting persistent frost: daytime lows of minus six degrees in the mountains, and barely one minus in the Rhine Valley.
The notorious "Albtrauf vent" is driving cold air down into the wide plains, further increasing the wind chill. Winter sports enthusiasts are rejoicing at the perfect slopes, while homeowners are hurriedly sealing water pipes. But it's not just in the Swabian Alps that the world is freezing – further east, it's also icy.
Saxony's peaks creek in the frost
The Fichtelberg, Brocken, and Thuringian Forest are blanketed in postcard-perfect white: 31 cm of snow at the highest point of the Ore Mountains, 40 cm on the Brocken, plus freshly groomed cross-country ski trails and toboggan runs. During the day, temperatures remain below freezing, and at night the mercury drops below -10 degrees Celsius .
Winter sports enthusiasts are celebrating powder dreams, while rescue services are urging caution – any venturing off-piste could be a trap. And yet, the cold continues its advance towards the central and western regions, where millions of morning appointments are at stake.
What happens when roads, railways, and airports hold their breath?
Traffic & Everyday Life: When Breath Freezes
Across Germany, accidents caused by black ice are on the rise; Trucks are getting stuck on inclines, regional trains are slowing down, and planes are waiting to be de-iced. In Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, daytime highs are between -5 and 0 degrees Celsius , and nighttime temperatures are plummeting.
Even minor things become a challenge: smartphone batteries die, doors freeze shut, and morning coffee cools down in minutes. Cities are setting up heated buses to protect the homeless. But meteorologists have an even more drastic warning in store.
Meteorologists warn of "ice days"
Experts from the German Weather Service are forecasting more clear nights. Under freshly fallen snow, temperatures of -15 degrees Celsius are widespread, and even as low as -20 degrees Celsius in higher Alpine valleys. Such temperatures turn everyday journeys into risky expeditions: tires lose pressure, batteries die, and even short walks require several layers of clothing.
Dominik Jung from wetter.net speaks of a "short but biting winter peak" before milder Atlantic air takes over for the weekend. But the coldest night is still just ahead of us – and it could break records.
Record low revealed: -17.7 degrees – and the thermometer continues to fall.
Shortly after sunrise, the German Weather Service confirmed the -17.7 degrees Celsius recorded in Meßstetten as the lowest temperature so far this winter of 2025/26. This officially makes the Swabian Alb the coldest place in Germany – at least for the moment. In the coming nights, Alpine valleys could fall below this mark and break the legendary -20-degree barrier.
Until then, Germany remains in the grip of the cold: every breath paints
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