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January 15, 2021

Brutal Winter of 1978: 35 Amazing Photos of the Blizzard in Northern Germany From December 1978 to January 1979

On December 28, 1978, a combination of a low pressure system from the Mediterranean Sea, which brought moisture and mild temperatures, and a high pressure system from Scandinavia, which featured frigid temperatures, collided over the Baltic Sea, unleashing what was considered at that time “The Blizzard of the Century!”

Winds of up to 160 kph, combined with snow drifts of up to 7 meters (20 feet) and high tides that were half the height, literally brought everything to a standstill beginning on December 28, 1978 and ending on January 3, 1979. An average of 70 centimeters of snow fell in most of the affected regions while 30 centimeters of thick ice were reported! The entire northern half of West Germany and all of East Germany were affected- from Flensburg and Hamburg to Brunswick and Cologne; Rostock and Neu Brandenburg to Leipzig and Erfurt. All were affected. The island of RĂ¼gen was cut off from the rest of the world for days until help arrived. Snow blocked transport of coal from the Lausitz region to the burning plants, thus bringing blackouts in electricity to wide areas in East Germany. And motorways were littered with stranded cars from Frankfurt/Main all the way to the Danish border near Flensburg and beyond. Hundreds of people lost their lives in that storm.

This blizzard was just the beginning of the winter that crippled everything in Germany, for another round of snow and ice of similar proportions fell later on February 18/19, 1979. The total amount of snow that fell during the entire period was over 100 centimeters, double the amount the region receives per year.

And while the government was late in response to the New Year storms and have since improved on providing emergencies in cases like these, many documentaries have been produced to describe the events in detail from eyewitness accounts. Three of which have been dug out of the attic for you to have a look, to see how powerful the storm really was. It still ranks as one of the ten worst winter storms on record since 1949.



































1 comment:

  1. I have not yet seen this movie, but it is quite obvious that if it is being showcased in the Berlin Film festival then it is for sure a masterpiece. Berlin Film Festival is very well known in the world, the main reason behind this is the quality of pictures that are selected for awards is wonderful and it can attract anyone. The competition is usually very tough between many titles and movies. In the Berlin Film Festival 2021, many new things are going to be implemented and people are waiting for it eagerly as due to the pandemic it was not held in 2020 as well.

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