Category: Winter

Record Snow, Chaos, And Winter Wonderland

That was an unexpected start to the winter. Used to often warmer winters over the last years the tons of snow on the First Advent in the region North of the Alps and Austria had an American feeling of real winters in the North or simply the times before climate change, when cold winters with lots of snow were normal.

On December 1, 2023, a 5B Weather Situation and an air mass limit led to new record snowfall in Upper Bavaria. In only a few hours a thick layer of snow stopped trains and airplanes around Munich, causing over 90 traffic jams and many blackouts on Saturday, December 2.

A surprise in the morning: A thick layer of snow on the table.

There was so much snow that even on December 2, an emergency state in the capital of Bavaria lasted. One reason is that every weather event is different: In this case, the snow was wet and lasted on branches of trees. Some trees feel or parts of the trees broke apart. Therefore police and first responders had a lot of work.

It began in the afternoon hours on December 1 when the rain turned more and more into white blobs. The evening hours saw intense snowfall. It was snowing and snowing and in a few hours, the landscape was completely under a thick layer of white. That was too much for winter services to cope with.

In the morning hours of December 2, it was clear that it would take a lot of time and effort to clear streets, garages, and gardens from the mass of snow. Snowing didn’t stop before late afternoon. A cold night followed. On Sunday the weather calmed but it became even colder.

That first advent will be remembered as a true Winter Wonderland dream. Frost, the thick sheets of snow and ice created fantastic scenery in Bavaria and in the Alps.

Due to the nature of this weather event where snow often was attached to trees and other things it formed interesting sculptures.

With a little imagination, the fields were filled with strange creatures and an endless variety of forms.

Warmer temperatures and a cold night led to these interesting effects.

The trees were veiled in sheets of snow, ice, and frost. In one place there was an ice-curtain.

Here is a little red contrasting the white:

Antennas weren’t spared.

This fence had a lot of frost crystals.

The early morning hours are the best time to capture Winter Wonderland scenery. The cold air is very clear and a deep blue sky contrasts the white trees and fields.

It is always a good idea to bring some elements into the picture that add to the atmosphere as old barns or houses.

An attraction is small streams that are not yet frozen. If the water is warmer it creates often a thin veil of mist which looks great when illuminated by the sun.

by Waldmeister Categories: natural wonders, Seasons, Severe Weather, Uncategorized, Winter

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: , , , ,

JANUARY 2019: MASSES OF SNOW

January 2019 began with new weather extremes in Central Europe. After the long drought in 2018 a lot of people hoped there would be rain and snow. Everywhere in Middle Europe there was too little rainfall from early 2018 til November 2018. In Berlin the river Spree was flowing backwards. There were concerns about the pheatric levels. Rain or Snow was indeed urgently needed to redeem the situation. Then the snow came but in a way that it created new problems.

After January 5 it was snowing in the alpine countries. However the winter dream turned for some places into a nightmarish situation. It didn’t stopped snowing for days. Villages in Austria and Germany were isolated and couldn’t any longer reached by cars. The problem: Snow and wind turned trees into dangerous obstacles.

Felled trees were lying on rail tracks and blocked many roads. It became also a rising danger for pedestrians. In Upper Bavaria an emergency alert was issued in the well known tourist areas of Berchtesgaden and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The snow was growing and growing and became too heavy for the roofs of many buildings. Some roofs had already collapsed. The danger of avalanches was continually rising. Casualties happened because some ski-tourists didn’t listen to the warnings.  In the countryside there were countless car accidents due to bad road conditions.

Beginning with the night of January 12-13 the situation started to become more severe. There was again heavy snowfall but also the temperature began to rise. It also started to rain in lower areas. This is a big problem because it makes the snow much heavier. The danger of trees and buildings collapsing was rising and it still is.

January 13 a severe storm is announced. It stems from another low pressure system arriving from the North. There was already a storm-flood in Northern Germany. Usually the time of mid-January is often a very cold time of the year with long lasting high pressure systems.

Weather researchers are saying this could also related to the changed climate conditions in the arctic. It is somehow a mirror image of the situation in summer when high pressure systems didn’t move any longer and created the drought. Now it is a situation where low pressure systems are hitting against the alps because there is generally not much exchange in the atmosphere. There is again a weather pattern where the same weather conditions last longer as expected.

Extreme situations in the winter happened before in 2006 and 1999 when there was a terribly tragedy due to avalanches in the Austrian Alps in Galtür. Since then a lot of protection measures were put into place in the Alps.



Nevertheless winter is always a great photo-motive: Wind and snow are creating sculptures. If you look you can see also often a “blue light” in the snow. This happens due to refractions of light in the snow.

Weather services are still warning about severe conditions the coming week beginning January 14. Perhaps later there will be some sunshine and people can enjoy the beauty of a winter in the mountains.

by Waldmeister Categories: Climate Change, Seasons, Severe Weather, Uncategorized, Windstorm, WinterTags: , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , ,