As of: February 26, 2024, 2:13 p.m
By: Fabian Hartmann
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Already in the summer, forecasts had predicted surprisingly mild winter weather.
Now it is certain: February 2024 will be the warmest since measurements began.
Frankfurt – Friday (March 1st) marks the start of meteorological spring.
And with it comes to an end one of the warmest winters in Germany since weather records began more than 140 years ago.
Around a fifth of the weather stations in Germany had not reported a single day of frost by February 24, 2024.
With the start of spring, this year's winter could be the third warmest overall since measurements began in 1881.
“Nature is literally exploding.
The first pollen has been on the way for weeks.
In some regions wild garlic is already blooming.
“Nature is currently a good three weeks early,” says
Graduate meteorologist Dominik Jung told the weather portal
wetter.net.
Winter weather nil: February 2024 breaks temperature record
February 2024 will even break all previous February heat records on Thursday (February 29): with an average temperature of 7.0 degrees Celsius, it will be remembered as the mildest February since measurements began.
This replaces February 1990, which was considered the warmest February in Germany to date.
At that time the monthly average temperature was 5.7 degrees.
For comparison: In February 2023, the average temperature in Germany was 3.2 degrees - and was therefore already 2.8 degrees above the value of the internationally valid reference period from 1961 to 1990. With an average of 7 degrees, February is also significantly warmer than an average March in Germany: the average temperature in March in this country is 4.6 degrees.
But what can we expect for the upcoming March?
If temperatures climb as much as they did in February, that could mean a warmer than average start to spring.
Or will March 2024 make Germany freeze again, contrary to climate change?
The weather in March: is spring coming, or is winter coming back?
Graduate meteorologist Jung predicts a similar mild start to March as at the end of the previous month.
And the meteorologist can rule out a possible return of winter.
“All in all, when it comes to winter weather, there won’t be much left,” says Jung, describing the prospects for the meteorological start of spring in Germany.
Spring awakening in Frankfurt?
© IMAGO/Florian Gaul
And according to the
German Weather Service
(DWD), “little wintry prospects await us for the remaining days of the meteorological winter”.
But exactly what prospects can be expected for the change from winter to spring this week - after Sunday (February 25th) in many parts of the country, such as Oschatz in Saxony with 13.5 degrees or in Lahr in Baden-Württemberg with 12, 8 degrees the 10 degree mark was easily broken?
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At the meteorological start of spring: What will the weather be like this week?
Monday started with some wintry morning temperatures, after they had been below freezing during the night in Lübeck-Blankensee (-2.9 degrees) or in Sohland on the Spree (-3.8 degrees).
According to the DWD, a low over France could cause unsettled weather, especially in the west and southwest, while a slight influence of high pressure in northeast Germany will ensure a brighter outlook.
In Berlin the temperatures climb from 5 degrees in the morning to up to 11 degrees over the course of the day, and it is overcast.
After a predominantly cloudy weekend, temperatures in Frankfurt will not exceed 9 degrees with light rain in the morning and into the afternoon.
Temperatures of up to 11 degrees are expected in Munich, and there could be light precipitation in the evening after a long period of overcast skies.
In the southeast of the country there are slight foehn foothills from the Alps.
In eastern Germany there may also be sunny periods as the fog clears up locally over the course of the day.
Otherwise it will be very cloudy to overcast, in the west and southwest from Münsterland to Franconia, intermittent rain can be expected.
The maximum temperatures nationwide are 6 to 13 degrees.
In addition, according to the DWD, weak to moderate winds can be expected from the east, and in the northern half from the northeast.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, temperatures of 5 to a maximum of 10 degrees can be expected across Germany.
“There is no trace of late winter,” says meteorologist Jung from
wetter.net
.
Little precipitation, hardly any outliers in the weather – these are the prospects for March
But what do the weather experts expect for the beginning of March this year?
“It's heading towards spring,” comments qualified meteorologist Jung, looking at an exemplary ensemble forecast for Frankfurt am Main until March 13th.
The average temperature for Frankfurt up to this day is between 10 and 12 degrees.
And what about precipitation?
“A little bit of rain every now and then, but the large amounts of rain are over,” explains
wetter.net
meteorologist Jung.
Jung also predicts only small amounts of precipitation for Berlin in the next 10 to 14 days.
According to the meteorologist, temperatures in the capital are likely to average 10 to 13 degrees until mid-March.
“It’s just bobbing along,” explains Jung.
Although the first outliers towards the middle of the month are likely to rise towards the 20 degree mark, the average temperature for this year's March in Berlin is likely to be similar to the temperatures in Frankfurt with moderate to mild temperatures between 10 degrees and 12 to 13 degrees.
(Fabian Hartmann)