Category: Seasons Winter

An Alpine Winter Wonderland And The Different Forms Of White Frost

Peter Engelmann, January 2025

Trees, Bushes, and grass frozen with layers of hoarfrost are great motives. Landscape photographers love these meteorological phenomena because they create fantastic, enchanted landscapes. True magic Winter Wonderland.

On January 1, 2025, such extraordinary scenery could be explored in an Alpine Valley close to the famous Ettal-monastery in Bavaria.

The Graswang Valley is always a spectacular spot for photographers and filmmakers. It begins with a grand rocky mountains-like scenery and a road leads to one of the fairytale-king Ludwig II’s beloved castles, Linderhof.

It’s no wonder the region has a reputation as a romantic fairytale country that also inspired artists. It is in midst of the nature park Ammergauer Alps. Here is the highly recommended website for further informations: https://www.ammergauer-alpen.de/

But some days make it even more fascinating and let us forget our modern rational world even if a lot of traffic due to tourism is never far away.

Weather plays a huge part in this.

Around Christmas and New Year 2025, Middle Europe and Southern Germany were under a long-lasting high-pressure system and a so-called inversion layer. This means that temperatures on top of mountains were higher and temperatures in valleys or lower parts of the country remained low. These inversion layers in Winter lead to a lot of fog.

The fog is very different: It can be more like clouds when there is high fog (low stratus). Mountain highs are often above this fog and from atop the fog it looks like a sea of fog. Or it is a grey cloud cover if you are in a valley. Sometimes there are sheets of ground fog with limited sight or constant changes with a milky sun breaking through the fog over midday.

Wet areas like bog or stream valleys often create their own microclimate with fog. In the Graswang valley, there is not only the Ammer but a number of springs and lots of smaller streams coming from the mountains and wetlands – perfect conditions for fog and hoarfrost.

But why do these layers of ice-crystals around trees and branches so thick?

One possibility:

Fog creates its special sort of hoarfrost which is in German called “Raueis”, ROUGH ICE. It is a bit different than the original hoar frost.

Rough Ice emerges when fog freezes. Fog consists of very small water droplets. If these droplets come in contact with colder surfaces rough ice is created whereas hoar frost is a frozen precipitation of water vapor in ice form. 

Rough Ice and rime are hexagonal crystals of frozen water. The bond between hydrogen and oxygen creates this hexagonal shape, which is transparent but appears white due to the diffuse reflection.

This makes hoar frost and rough ice so fascinating for photographers. Combined with some snow and stable cold weather conditions which add more and more ice crystals we can experience these magical landscapes.

If you want to take such pictures it’s good to follow weather reports – and often be there in the morning. The sun usually melts the ice on the trees quickly.

Topography

One of the special circumstances here in the valley is that during winter the sun never reaches the bottom of the valley in some parts. So, if you look for these types of scenery a valley or gorge with a stream where in Winter the shadow of the mountains is there all day is a good option. The valley runs from the West to the East and has openings here to the East which affects airflow too.

Cold temperatures and shadow all day on the Southern side of the valley.

Great motives in the neighbourhood: Ettal Abbey

Always worth a visit. The Ettal Abbey is close to the Graswang valley. The Ettal Abbey was found in 1330. Today 50 monks live in the Benedictine monastery. The impressive building is a baroque rebuilding after the original building was destroyed. On the other side the road through the Graswang valley leads to the famous Linderhof Castle, the German austrian border and the Plansee, a long alpine lake.

DIRECTIONS

The Graswang Valley is accessible from Garmisch Partenkirchen, from Oberammergau and from Reutte, Tyrol.

Trains stop in Garmisch Partenkirchen and Oberammergau. From Oberammergau there is a bus, Line 9622. During summer a special attraction is the “Ringbus” a special bus for tourists and hikers starting in Oberau.

by Waldmeister Categories: natural wonders, Seasons Winter, Travel Tip, Uncategorized, WinterTags: , , , ,

Winter Storm Nadia, January 30, 2022

End of January shores at the Northern Sea and stretches in different countries were hit by winter storm Nadia. This was a low pressure system which changed weather condition in Germany after a quiet period with high pressure. Most of the days there were low hanging mist, some snowfall and lots of sun in the Alps. The weather change is not unusual for this time of the year. Winter Storm Nadia did serious damage on the island Langeroog, Hamburg and Berlin. In Langeroog the sand of a shore was swept away and what was left was some kind of newborn cliff.

Windy Sunday Morning: Fast moving clouds, waves and snow on the hills in the background

In Southern Germany there was a windy night between January 29 and January 30. The wind calmed down a bit in the morning of Sunday, January 30. There were moderate winds at the Lake Ammersee. Temperatures were up a bit after some cold days. The snow remained in the higher places of Upper Bavaria. As often there were interesting atmospheres and cloud patterns during that stormy winter day. Even the wind was only moderate on the ground, the clouds were moving fast. It was a quick change of conditions with sunlight and overcast sky. The air was very clear This is always a condition after a storm and very useful for taking pictures or taking videos.

The winter times and morning hours are also a good time for pictures and videos, since the sun is not heigh up in the sky. Therefore there are interesting cloud colours and a crisp blue sky between the fast moving clouds. It is good to avoid walks through forest even after a frontline or a storm has passed. Open places like meadows, hills or the shoreline of a lake are safer places to capture some pictures.

Driftwood after the storm night

The shoreline on the Eastside of the lake Ammersee, the second biggest lake of the so-called “Fünf-Seen-Land” south of Munich is a popular spot for photographers. It is close to the nature reserve “Ammersee West” and there is a sense of wilderness there. There is always driftwood and whole trees scattered around. If the branches or trees last longer in the water they can turn into sculptures. Nature is an artist here.

Thus it was the idea to take a stroll at the shore of lake Ammersee near that nature reserve and take some pics with the fast moving clouds on Sunday morning. It was only a quieter moment between two storm systems. The wind was taking up again on Monday, January 31. Temperatures dropped again and snow as falling. Series of storms are not unusual for this period of the year. However, we see now unusual extremes at any time of the years in some parts of the world. Whereas winter storm Nadia was more or less a “normal” storm, the U.S. was hit by extreme winter conditions. the same time.

After a cloudy morning there were more and more blue skies. In January the winter sky has that special blue color. After the front had passed the day before it was dry til the next day. Wind and waves changing the appearance of this special shore all the time.

Peter Engelmann, 31.01.2022

by Waldmeister Categories: Four Elements, Seasons, Seasons Winter, Severe Weather, Uncategorized, Wind, Windstorm, WinterTags: , , , ,

Series Of Strong Windstorms In March 2019

After a period of warm days in February 2019 with a constant high-pressure system over Middle Europe weather became more dynamic. With the jet stream moving to Europe a series of low-pressure systems reached the continent. It was very windy for a couple of days. Severe weather was included with European windstorms as “Bennet” and “Eberhard” (known as Freya in the UK) and even a tornado. In Germany, (Nordrhein-Westfalen in particular) France and Switzerland wind gusts led to serious damage. There is an estimate that in Germany insured property losses of around EUR 800 million happened. Travel by train was stopped for one day creating chaos for travellers in Middle Europe.

Storm Eberhard arrives March 10, 2019 in Upper Bavaria with winds of 10 Beaufort strength

The sky was always turbulent with many interesting cloud patterns which allowed some impressing storm pictures. In Germany and Europe, the change in weather was welcomed because there is still a need for rain. Last year’s extreme drought left a lot of problems. Particularly the forest areas need still a lot of water to recover from the drought. It did indeed rain a lot in some areas but there is still a need for much more rain in the next months. The weeks in February with unusual long lasting dry weather raised already concerns for a new drought coming in 2019.

Storms are pretty normal in March. There had been even extreme windstorms in previous decades. Thus, the period of days with windy weather is no exception from the rule. But it was interesting that wind was blowing for many hours with strong wind gusts. This led to questions if this is a normal weather pattern. Honest answers prove to be difficult.

The rising numbers of weather anomalies due to climate change during the last years provoke a higher-sensibility to unusual weather phenomena. However, the weather is always like a big drama. There is an incredible variety of extremes. Researchers need to observe weather over long time spans to identify anomalies and unusual trends.

On the other side, Europe is affected by a number of winter windstorms over the last 30 years with the most damaging storms 1989/90. Insurances are alarmed about the rising cost of damage. Since these storm events are still relatively rare further research is required. The UK Met-office published recently a study with the most important findings of winter windstorms.

The series of storms showed some interesting developments. The wind came mostly from the west, sometimes South-West. In Upper-Bavaria there were days where there was a very good long distant view. The Alps appeared very clearly.

Waves hitting shore and a clear sight of the Alps in the background, Saturday, March 16, Lake Ammersee.

At the end of the weeks with stormy weather, there were showers with snow and little hail. This created some impressing sights shortly before sunset

In the aftermath of windstorm Eberhard temperatures decreased and there were snow and little hail showers illuminated by the sun.

A look into the south with a shower cloud above the Bavarian Upland

There were huge waves on the lakes in Bavaria due to the storm. A lot of driftwood appeared on the Eastern side of Lake Ammersee. It was an unusual sight. The lake appeared more like a shore at the Baltic Sea.

A lake in Upper Bavaria with waves.

After March 18 the weather calmed down. A high-pressure system led to cold but sunny weather in Southern Germany.

by Waldmeister Categories: Climate Change, Seasons Winter, Severe Weather, Uncategorized, Wind, WindstormTags: , ,

Panoramic Viewpoint: Hilltop Near Wessobrunn, Upper Bavaria

In Upper Bavaria, you can find an endless number of panoramic viewpoints. Thus the choice might appear a bit arbitrary. There will be certainly more places to be portrayed in the future but recently I discovered a viewpoint I particularly liked because of the extraordinary setting. There is a village nearby, meadows and woods and there is a free sight of the whole chain of mountains in the south.

It is easily accessible because it is close to the famous Wessobrunn monastery, where there is also a parking space, approximately one kilometre from the viewpoint which is basically a small road and a hilltop leading towards Diessen am Ammersee.

I discovered this viewpoint when I did part of the “King Ludwig 2 Trail” between Diessen am Ammersee and Wessobrunn. The viewpoint is certainly the highlight of this section of the trail. It is possible to do this (not recommended if it gets too warm) but there is no restaurant or such thing between Diessen and Wessobrunn. Due to the length of this part, it might be most suitable for a bicycle tour.

Sunday, March 11, was the first really warm day (17 Celsius) after the period of the arctic cold (“Beast From The East”) in Southern Bavaria. This was mostly due to the Foehn-Effect, which happens often during the wintertime. Foehn leads to an unusual rise in the temperature. The air becomes very clear and there is a clear sight of the mountains with many details. This day, however, there was also a special phenomenon, the so-called “Föhnkante”. This is a distinct border between clouds and the clearer part of the sky. It appears when the Foehn-Effect starts to break down. Subsequently, the following days were much colder and more winter-like.

In March there is little green and if the sun is behind higher-clouds colour in the landscape isn’t much appealing. But this time of the year between winter and spring could be interesting to capture structures in photography. After some time where I played a bit around with the pictures, I decided to present it in black and white. Black and white is often an interesting option and could reveal much of the special atmosphere of a place. The trick is not just to switch to black and white but trying different things with the software. There are also very good black and white filters in the NIK-collection software.

The viewpoint can be reached easily: you can use the parking space at the “Tassiloweg” behind the monastery. From there a steep path leads to the “Schloßbergstr.” The “Schloßbergstraße” leads to a settlement called “Haid” but do not walk towards the settlement but straight. The street becomes a small single road (better not go by car there because it is really very narrow and there is no parking space). It is great for a walk. There is also a seat there near the viewpoint and its fantastic for a rest – and of course to take pictures.

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The viewpoint is also not so far from the Hohen Peissenberg. Both places are very suitable for weather-photography. The place near Wessobrunn could be also of particular interest for sunsets or sunrise. It presents a very typical Upper Bavaria landscape setting.

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The most dominant mountain in the silhouette in the south is the Zugspitze. Seen from the viewpoint near Wessobrunn you have the Hohen Peissenberg with the big antenna in the foreground before the Zugspitze. It is good to choose a day like this one with the Foehn-Effect or come very early to capture the whole dimension of the view. The lower hills and the bigger mountains in the background add to the depth of the scenery.

The picture above is taken from the viewpoint and shows the whole Hohen Peissenberg. In the middle, there is a church. On the right side, there is a small tower, which is part of the weather station of Deutsche Wetterdienst. On the left side and also in the picture below is the big antenna.

by Waldmeister Categories: Photography Tips And Tricks, Seasons, Seasons Winter, Travel Tip, Uncategorized, Unusual Weather Phenoma, Weather lookout point, WinterTags: , , , , , , , ,