As of: February 15, 2024, 6:25 p.m
By: Julian Mayr
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Weather experts expect the last heat peak on Friday.
Then it cools down a bit.
Nevertheless, February could go down as the warmest in the history of measurements.
Frankfurt – February should have started cloudy and rainy.
Snow was then expected and temperatures would fall from the middle of the month.
At least that was the forecast of the 100-year calendar for February 2024. In fact, after spring-like temperatures in the first half of the month, it could soon get a little cooler.
Meteorologists do not believe that February could live up to its name as a winter month.
Instead, it could go down in measurement history as the warmest February month.
Extremely mild February 2024: Low temperatures this year are usually maximum values
The night of Thursday, February 15th, brought unusually high low temperatures of 12 degrees in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, as weather expert Dominik Jung reported.
With two exceptions, including the measuring station on the Zugspitze, all of the lowest recorded temperatures were in the plus range.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the minimum temperatures measured this year roughly corresponded to the maximum temperatures that would normally be expected at this time of year.
Temperature forecast for Germany |
Maximum values |
Friday, February 16th |
11 to 19 degrees |
Saturday, February 17th |
7 to 14 degrees |
Sunday, February 18th |
7 to 14 degrees |
Monday, February 19th |
6 to 13 degrees |
Tuesday, February 20th |
6 to 11 degrees |
Source: DWD |
The trigger for these exceptionally mild February temperatures in recent days was the low “Rixa”.
On the Rhine, temperatures rose to up to 18 degrees during the day.
This meant that we were “within touching distance of the temperature records for the second decade of February,” as meteorologist Felix Dietzsch from the weather forecast center in Offenbach told the dpa.
Temperatures on Friday (February 16th) hit the 20 degree mark again
The warmest day of this weather week should be Friday (February 16th), forecast weather expert Jung and the DWD.
According to Jung, the maximum temperatures should largely be between 13 and 15 degrees.
Dietzsch suspects that the temperature maximum is likely to be in central Germany, with the northern edge of the Harz and the Saale valley around Jena in particular being “hot candidates for the highest temperatures” of up to 19 degrees.
It is still uncertain whether the 20 degree mark would be reached, but the meteorologist emphasized: “It cannot be completely ruled out.”
At the weekend, the low “Rixa” will bring cooler Atlantic air from the northwest, which will lead to a slight cooling.
An extensive rain band crosses Germany from west to east, the DWD announces.
Nevertheless, the exceptionally mild weather will continue on Saturday, with temperatures expected to reach a maximum of 14 degrees, according to forecasts.
Jung made it clear that “there is no drastic cooling in sight”.
A return to winter temperatures in February seems impossible, as the weather expert determined after checking the ensemble forecasts.
Mild February 2024 is likely to be one of the warmest in the history of measurements
This February will be one of the warmest in recorded history.
According to Jung, that much is already certain.
The warmest February months to date date from the years 1990 (average temperature: 5.7 degrees), 2020 (average temperature: 5.3 degrees) and 2002 (average temperature: 5.1 degrees).
According to DWD meteorologists, it is still unclear whether there will be enough to set a new record due to the forecast drop in temperatures.
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Due to the mild temperatures, February 2024 could go down in measurement history as the warmest February month.
© Rene Traut/imago
However, the average temperature for the first two weeks of February was between six and seven degrees, so far well above the previous record month of 1990. In order to displace February 2024 from the top three warmest February months, according to the DWD there would have to be a “cold air period lasting several days”.
However, this was not foreseeable, at least until now.
Long-term weather models at least indicated that average temperatures in March would probably be more normal and therefore feel relatively cool.
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