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Weather in Germany: Winter too warm for the tenth time in a row

2021-02-26T15:46:29.954Z


Monday is the meteorological beginning of spring. The German Meteorological Service has already drawn up a winter balance and found numerous special features, not only in terms of temperatures.


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Sunset on February 10th in Petersdorf, Brandenburg

Photo: Patrick Pleul / dpa

This year's winter had snow and frost as well as beer garden weather, which made the first people resort to shorts and crop tops.

Although the days with maximum values ​​of 20 degrees and more were already close to March and thus the meteorological beginning of spring, it was - once again - too warm, even over the three winter months of December, January and February.

The German Weather Service (DWD) came to the conclusion in its preliminary winter balance.

More precisely, it was the tenth winter that was too warm in a row.

The temperature average in winter 2020/21 was 1.8 degrees and thus 1.6 degrees above the value of the internationally valid reference period 1961 to 1990. Compared to the current and warmer reference period 1991 to 2020, the deviation was still 0.4 degrees , it was said.

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The values ​​refer to the meteorological winter, which, in contrast to the astronomical winter, always begins on December 1st and ends on the last day of February.

The DWD evaluated data from around 2000 measuring stations for the analysis.

Minus 26.7 degrees on February 10th

In February in particular, there was a winter with plenty of snow, especially in the northern and eastern halves of Germany.

At the beginning of February an extremely rare borderline weather situation caused snow and ice in the north, while mild temperatures prevailed in the south.

Especially in Thuringia and East Hesse, freezer temperatures were around minus 20 degrees during the nights.

The lowest winter value in Germany was recorded on February 10th in Mühlhausen-Görmar, northwest of Erfurt, with minus 26.7 degrees.

With almost 180 liters of precipitation per square meter, winter 2020/21 almost exactly reached its target of 181 liters per square meter.

On January 28th, the largest daily volume fell in Bernau-Goldbach in the southern Black Forest with 87.4 liters per square meter.

In the Black Forest, around 585 liters per square meter locally, the largest total in Germany was measured.

Amounts of snow that had already fallen in the Alps and later also in the low mountain ranges led to large floods at the end of January with the onset of thaw and heavy rainfall in the west and south.

Drought, on the other hand, was a problem in parts of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, where there was barely 50 liters of precipitation per square meter throughout the winter.

When it comes to sunshine, the meteorologists recorded a clear plus.

With more than 175 hours, the duration of sunshine in winter 2020/21 significantly exceeded its target of 153 hours compared to the period 1961 to 1990.

Compared to the period 1991 to 2020, the sunshine duration was slightly above the value of 170 hours.

It was sunniest at the edge of the Alps, where the sun showed up to 285 hours.

She was least visible in the far north, the Taunus and the Sauerland, sometimes with less than 125 hours.

Record turnaround in February

Also noteworthy in February was the rise in temperature after the cold.

At first it looked as if the month could be cooler than average, but the weather turned a new record.

The change in Göttingen was particularly extreme: While a low of minus 23.8 degrees was measured there on February 14th, the high on February 21st was 18.1 degrees - an increase of 41.9 degrees.

In order to find something even remotely comparable, the weather researchers had to go far back in time: The previous record was documented in May 1880, i.e. in the early days of weather records.

At that time, a temperature increase of 41 degrees was measured within seven days, said a spokesman for the DWD.

In Hamburg, on February 22nd, the temperature rose for the first time in the history of the weather record with a maximum of 21.1 degrees in a winter month over the 20 degree mark.

But not only that: For the first time in the history of weather records, temperatures of 20 degrees and more were measured on six consecutive days in the winter months, according to DWD.

"There have been three days in a row several times, most recently in 2019," said a DWD spokesman.

"Now that has doubled straight away - this clearly shows the global warming."

As nice as the mild temperatures are for many people after the long winter months - climate researchers and meteorologists are very concerned about these values.

Icon: The mirror

jme / dpa

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-02-26

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