Hamburg - Accidents snarled high-lying snowed-over roads Friday in Germany as Alpine countries stood by for high winds, sinking temperatures and heavy snow.

In the upland central state of Thuringia, a highway maintenance vehicle spreading salt to melt the snow was struck by a skidding truck, destroying both vehicles, police said. The drivers suffered only minor injuries.

Further north in the Harz mountains, trucks became immobilized when they could not climb steep grades on a snow-covered federal highway and had to be towed free.

Germany's first snow of this winter at sea level, a couple of centimetres deep, covered parts of northern Germany early Friday. The weather front, which marked the shock arrival of winter, was moving south.

Winds gusting up to 130 kilometres per hour buffetted the Swiss Alps, and meteorologists said they were a precursor to heavy snow later Friday. They forecast 10 centimetres in the lowlands and much more on mountains. (dpa)