Especially in the south we have to expect showers, rain and at higher altitudes even snow. Meteorologist Jan Schenk explains the background to this weather phenomenon in a weather talk with FOCUS online.

What is a cold air drop?

A Cold air drops is a special weather pattern in higher air layers. “A cold air drop is actually a low altitude filled with cold air,” says Schenk. Different from classic Low pressure areas it has no direct contact with the ground and often occurs at the edges of high pressure areas.

That makes it difficult to predict: “It’s a bit unpredictable, such a drop of cold air. It can bring quite a lot of rain, especially showery rain,” said the meteorologist.

Showers, rain and snow in the south

On Saturday the system will move over Germany and bring rainfall, especially in the south. “We see how precipitation is moving in here. This is rain in the south, in Baden-Württemberg and also heavy snowfall in the mountains,” said Schenk as he looked at the weather models.

The uneven distribution is typical of a drop of cold air: “There is a lot of precipitation locally, up to twenty liters, and sometimes nothing at all.” Occasionally even thunderstorms cannot be ruled out.

Short but intense

The weather phenomenon only lasts for a short time: the drop of cold air moves on on Sunday morning. After that, the weather calms down again, especially in the south, even if it remains a little cooler there.

A curious peculiarity: the drop of cold air has come a long way. “It comes out Finlandmoves via Germany and then goes towards Mallorca,” says Schenk.