Weather service warning Ice and snow disrupt traffic around Bonn
Bonn · Snow, rain and ice are hampering traffic on Wednesday morning in Bonn and the Rhine-Sieg region. Some streets are closed and and school buses cancelled.
After thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind moved through Bonn and the region on Tuesday, ice and snow added to the mix on Wednesday. At temperatures just above freezing, sand and salting vehicles have been on the move since early morning. The German Weather Service has issued a warning that conditions may be slippery.
Light snow is causing further difficulties for motorists on some roads. And the weather service has warned of storms for all day Wednesday, with wind gusts reaching up to 75 km / h.
Buses have been affected by the weather conditions. In higher areas of the Rhine-Sieg region, school buses have been cancelled due to the snow and ice. Rhine-Sieg transportation authorities put out a message on Twitter.
Snowfall at 5:30 am brought many traffic disruptions to Neunkirchen-Seelscheid and Much. Many uphill routes, such as the national road 507 between Pohlhausen and Neuenkirchen, are partly blocked by trucks which have skid and come to a standstill across the lanes. On the Wahnbachtalstrasse (L189) a 12-ton truck landed in the ditch after skidding from a curve.
Accidents in NRW
Ice and snow are bringing considerable problems to some autobahns in NRW. Autobahn 2 between Herford and Vlotho had to be closed in the direction of Hannover, according to police. Apparently, there was an accident with a truck whose trailer subsequently blocked two lanes. The cause was a slippery road surface, sending the driver to a clinic for his injuries.
Both lanes of the A44 towards Dortmund had to be closed due to an accident near Lichtenau. Again, a truck slid on the icy surface and was blocking the lanes. In some areas of Detmold and Duisburg, some streets had to be closed off because of snow and hail. Several small accidents were reported on the A40 because of the slippery road conditions.
The stormy weather will remain with us a while longer. On Thursday, conditions are expected to be particularly stormy. According to the German Weather Service, wind gusts up to 110 kilometers per hour can be expected, especially at higher altitudes. In the lowlands, heavy storm gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour are to be expected. Hurricane-like gusts there can not be excluded, said the weather service.
(Orig. text: ga.de, with material from dpa)
