Winter in Germany: From Record Snowfall in Berlin to Severe Drought in Saxony

This winter season in Germany will be recorded in meteorological annals as a time of deep weather contrasts. According to official data from the German Meteorological Service (DWD), the country's weather landscape was divided into a snowy north and a dry, sunny east and south. Berlin and Brandenburg recorded the most intense snowfall since 2012, and locally even in 14 years, representing a clear exception to the trend of increasingly milder winters. A similar phenomenon was observed in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where winter was the snowiest since 2010. Nevertheless, statistics for all of Germany indicate that the season was warmer, drier, and sunnier compared to the historical average, confirming ongoing climate change. Since the beginning of systematic meteorological measurements in the 19th century, winters in Central Europe have shortened, and the number of days with snow cover in lowlands has drastically decreased in favor of rainfall.The hydrological situation in many regions is causing concern among experts. In Saxony, Thuringia, and Rhineland-Palatinate, excessively low sums of precipitation were recorded, which, combined with a high number of sunshine hours, has deepened the phenomenon of drought ahead of the start of the growing season. The Saarland, on the other hand, became a regional anomaly, registering record rainfall while experiencing an almost complete lack of sunshine. Although Brandenburg was classified as statistically the coldest state, the overall temperature trend across the country favored a rapid onset of spring. Ski resorts in Hesse are officially ending their season, and skiers are enjoying the last patches of snow on the slopes before forecasted warming. The final days of February brought a sudden change in weather, which ultimately displaced the cold air masses from German territory. Meteorologists emphasize that although the localized winter attacks in the north were spectacular and led to transport paralysis, they failed to reverse the nationwide trend towards milder seasons. In North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland, the end of February already resembles full spring, with temperatures significantly exceeding norms for this time of year. Experts from the DWD summarize that this winter was a dynamic interplay of rare precipitation anomalies with progressive warming, creating unpredictable conditions for agriculture and water management in the coming months.