American military community members in southern Germany may wake up Wednesday morning to more of a white sight than they’ve been used to this winter.
While the snow didn’t fall as expected on Monday night or Tuesday morning, forecasters with the 21st Operational Weather Squadron in Germany said that military communities should expect even more snow than was earlier predicted from a front that is moving into southern Germany.
Now, folks in the Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels areas can expect up to 1 foot of snow, while the Stuttgart and Garmisch areas could see 8 to 10 inches. The Franconia region of Ansbach and Bamberg could get up to 6 inches.
Forecasters on Monday had called for only about 2 inches of snow in the Grafenwöhr area starting Tuesday, while the Ansbach area was only slated to see about 3 inches.
The snow is expected to be at its heaviest Wednesday, said Tech. Sgt. Steven McConnell, a forecaster with the squadron. A snow watch is in effect for those areas until 6 a.m. on Thursday, he said.
The Kaiserlautern community will be about as north as the bad weather will get this week, said 2nd Lt. Kyle Paslay, also a squadron forecaster.
“It’s pretty much just going to be trace,” he said of that area’s forecast.
Other communities such as Baumholder or Spangdahlem also will likely just see trace amounts, he said.
However, temperatures will be below freezing through all areas, McConnell said.
“This is really one of the first cold outbreaks we’ve had,” McConnell said, adding that it’s also the first substantial snowfall for many areas.
“I wouldn’t plan any road trips, because I know the roads are going to be horrible,” he said.
Ski resorts in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland should also get a much-needed dose of fresh snow with the oncoming storm, McConnell said.
“This weekend will probably be good for ski conditions,” he said.
According to the 21st Operational Weather Squadron’s Web site, the communities around Vicenza, Italy, can expect a bit of rain or snow on Wednesday and Thursday, with partly cloudy skies the rest of the week. Aviano, Italy, is slated to see some rain showers for the rest of the work week.
Looking to the United Kingdom, Air Force communities in Mildenhall and Lakenheath should see gray skies, temperatures above freezing and a chance for showers all this week.
