road conditions / december
Sep 1, 2009 | 8:21 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: ORD
Posts: 746
road conditions / december
Folks, I am going to be in Germany in December and wanted to do a road trip Hamburg-Dusseldorf- Munich over two days.
Having done a great road trip last year on a 525d from sixt from Hamburg-Berlin-Kempten-Munich, I'd very much like to relive the pleasure of driving on the autobahn.
However not sure about weather / snow in Hamburg at that time of the year.
Would welcome opinion from those based in northern germany.
Thanks.
Having done a great road trip last year on a 525d from sixt from Hamburg-Berlin-Kempten-Munich, I'd very much like to relive the pleasure of driving on the autobahn.
However not sure about weather / snow in Hamburg at that time of the year.
Would welcome opinion from those based in northern germany.
Thanks.
Sep 1, 2009 | 8:37 am
#2
Join Date: May 2004
Location: near FRA
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.Hamburg does hardly see any snow at all. General rule: The farther south the more snowy or hazardous road conditions might get. However, December should be rather safe compared to Jan/Feb.
F.R.
Sep 1, 2009 | 8:41 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Munich, Germany
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It can snow and be cold or it can be wet, gray and not so cold. Winter in Germany is not a constant thing. In general winter is mild and rainy. Only in higher areas you have real chance of snow. So driving conditions won't be perfect but not bad either. Make sure the car you rent has snow/winter tires or at least all-season tires on it. If you decide to drive into mountain regions (there are none around Hamburg) but still if you want to do that make sure to have snow chains with you since sometimes snow chains are mandatory on certain roads.
Sep 1, 2009 | 11:29 am
#4
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Not sure where you are from, but this is like asking what the road conditions would be like driving from Boston to DC in winter. The answer is that they could be covered with snow or it could be bright sunshine or it could be absolutley pissing down with rain.
Sep 1, 2009 | 11:56 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,566
I lived in the Hamburg area for many years, and still spend a lot of time there now.
As others have said... it's entirely unpredictable.
All I can really say is that you will usually get some snow some between about November and April (yes, April - I remember waking up to a thick layer of snow one day in mid-April 1996). Some years there is a lot. Some years there is hardly any at all. Some years you get snow in November and Spring-like days in December and January. Some years it's the other way round. I don't remember many years when snow has closed roads or railway lines, but it does happen (it happened in 1979 when I was at college in Hamburg...)
So, as others have said... anything is possible.
As others have said... it's entirely unpredictable.
All I can really say is that you will usually get some snow some between about November and April (yes, April - I remember waking up to a thick layer of snow one day in mid-April 1996). Some years there is a lot. Some years there is hardly any at all. Some years you get snow in November and Spring-like days in December and January. Some years it's the other way round. I don't remember many years when snow has closed roads or railway lines, but it does happen (it happened in 1979 when I was at college in Hamburg...)
So, as others have said... anything is possible.
Sep 1, 2009 | 4:11 pm
#7
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Sep 2, 2009 | 2:04 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,566
So, as I said before, anything is possible.
Sep 4, 2009 | 5:39 am
#9
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: BRN (home), ZRH (main), GRQ (origin)
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Last February 17 I drove from Munich via Nrnberg and Magdeburg to Hannover. There was heavy icerain most of the way but the roads were clear (not on the A96 Munich-Lindau, though).
The car rental equipped me with an Audi A4 2.0 T Cabrio
with winter tires so all went very well in the end. Never felt unsafe 
So, anything can happen with the weather, but on the motorway you should be ok ^
Sep 4, 2009 | 7:12 am
#10
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany
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Posts: 678
Last February 17 I drove from Munich via Nrnberg and Magdeburg to Hannover. There was heavy icerain most of the way but the roads were clear (not on the A96 Munich-Lindau, though).
The car rental equipped me with an Audi A4 2.0 T Cabrio with winter tires so all went very well in the end. Never felt unsafe
So, anything can happen with the weather, but on the motorway you should be ok ^
The car rental equipped me with an Audi A4 2.0 T Cabrio
with winter tires so all went very well in the end. Never felt unsafe So, anything can happen with the weather, but on the motorway you should be ok ^
I remember that I had once one out of three lanes free of snow between Frankfurt and Wrzburg a few days before Christmas.
Additionally, there are usually major problems when first snow of the season comes. It is always surprising how little some drivers are prepared (technically & mentally) for winter conditions during the first days of snowy road conditions.
Oct 25, 2009 | 2:24 am
#12
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: AGB, MUC, FKB
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Speed limits on winter/snow tires
Oct 25, 2009 | 10:49 pm
#13
Moderator: Asiana & Qantas Frequent Flyer
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I don't remember any recent winters when Northern Germany did NOT have a (usually short) spell of snow and ice. I was there in the first week of January this year and there was ice drifting down the Elbe and the Maschsee in Hannover had been turned into a temporary ice rink. And while main roads normally get cleared fairly quickly after a snowfall it's not much fun driving while it's actually snowing.
So, as I said before, anything is possible.
So, as I said before, anything is possible.
Can you still book cars without winter tyres?
Oct 26, 2009 | 12:01 am
#14
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At least Sixt asks you to preebook and to pay for winter tyres, what I normally do not do. At least at the airport stations they have plenty of inventory and in the event the car they assigned to me does not have winter tires I simply ask for a different car (if I require winter tyres). I actually never paid for these.
Oct 26, 2009 | 1:53 am
#15
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When I book a car @ Sixt through my company, winter tires are automatically included during winter season.
I am familiar with the stickers referring to the max. speed for your tires, but I never had any of these in a Sixt car (also compact class). What's more, I never had problems with the tires
I think they only mount better quality tires (H or V; z for sports cars) nowadays
I am familiar with the stickers referring to the max. speed for your tires, but I never had any of these in a Sixt car (also compact class). What's more, I never had problems with the tires
I think they only mount better quality tires (H or V; z for sports cars) nowadays