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A rare sight: snow-covered streets in the Rhön in May. The Ice Saints bring the unexpected onset of winter. Trucks stand sideways. The winter service is in action.
Wasserkuppe – snowfall in the Rhön in mid-May – that probably hasn’t happened for a long time. After Summery, sunny Rhön Energy Challenge weekend It started snowing in the low mountain range on Tuesday morning (May 12th). On the way to work, school or kindergarten, road users encountered cars whose roofs were covered in snow.
May snow in the Rhön: Ice Saints bring wintry weather
While the precipitation in Poppenhausen (450 meters) came down as rain at 2 degrees, for example, early in the morning from the Abtsroda district (660 meters) it was completely different Weather-World. It's snowing. And the snow stays there too. On the Wasserkuppe, at 950 meters the highest mountain in Hessethe temperature in the morning felt like minus 9 degrees.
“From a height of 600 meters, the streets in the Rhön are covered in snow,” said Fulda police spokesman Steffen Heil when asked by the Fuldaer Zeitung. The winter service is in action. In the area of the B278 federal highway between Ehrenberg-Wüstensachen and the Red Moor, several trucks are parked sideways on the long incline.
There has already been an accident in this area. Officers from the police in Hilders went there. Pictures from the Wasserkuppe showed that by around 8:30 a.m. almost four centimeters of snow had fallen within about two hours. The Rhönbob sledges on the all-weather toboggan run were completely snowed in.
“I don’t know when it snowed in May,” said an employee at the Wasserkuppe ski and toboggan arena. The snow fell right at the beginning of the so-called Ice Saints. They are a series of commemorations of Catholic saints from May 11 to 15, which, according to farm rules, are considered the last frost-prone nights of spring.
Further snowfall until Tuesday afternoon
“Pankraz, Servaz, Bonifaz only give way to summer,” says a farmer’s rule about the Ice Saints, for example. These days in May mark the period after which late ground frosts are no longer expected in the year, making them a safe planting time, especially for gardeners and farmers.
The snowfall is expected to continue in the higher altitudes of the Rhön until midday on Tuesday (May 12th). According to the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach, it will be variable to very cloudy in Hesse on Wednesday. There may be showers locally. Isolated thunderstorms possible in the afternoon. Maximum temperature at 13 to 15 degrees, at high altitudes around 9 degrees.
With a moderate southwesterly wind with some strong gusts, the weather is expected to remain changeable on Thursday night. The lowest values should be 8 to 5 degrees, in the high altitudes of Hesse up to 1 degree. The Ice Saints start with Mamertus on May 11th. Pankratius follows on May 12th. Then come Servatius (May 13) and Boniface (May 14).
The Ice Saints ends with Sophia (May 15). Another cold snap in June is known as the sheep cold. The 950 meter high Wasserkuppe is currently only accessible from one side. Extensive road construction work began on April 27th and will last until October in two construction phases.
