The weather in Germany in autumn 2014

Second warmest autumn since the start of nationwide measurements in Germany

Offenbach, 28 November 2014 – Autumn 2014 in Germany will go down in climate history as the second warmest since nationwide measurements started in 1881. Only autumn 2006 was warmer. At the same time, the season was too dry and there was slightly less sunshine than normal. This is what the initial analysis by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) of data from its around 2,000 weather stations shows. Whereas September saw many different weather situations, in October and November southerly to south-westerly flows largely prevailed, repeatedly bringing warm air masses to central Europe.

Autumn 2014 around 2.3 degrees too warm

In autumn 2014, the average temperature in Germany was 11.1 degrees Celsius (°C), i.e. 2.3 degrees higher than the international reference values for 1961 to 1990. When compared to the warmer 1981–2010 period, the deviation was still +2.1 degrees. Only autumn 2006 was warmer, when the average was 12.0°C. Whereas from 2011 to 2013, autumn even saw temperatures of over 30°C, this was not the case this year. The highest temperatures (28.8°C in each case) were recorded on 6 September in Bernburg an der Saale and Dresden-Strehlen. On the other hand, the nights were also really mild and the mercury only dipped below freezing point on occasions. The coldest place anywhere in Germany was Schmalkalden on 26 November where the temperature was -5.5°C.

North-south gradient for precipitation

After the wet autumn in 2013, at 150 litres per square metre (l/m²) autumn 2014 was too dry by 18 per cent. The long-term mean is 183 l/m². Rainfall substantially below average was a feature, especially in north and north-eastern Germany. Some places from northern Lower Saxony to Niederlausitz received less than 70 l/m², which for many parts was less than 50 per cent of the normal. In contrast, the autumn brought considerably more rain and snow in the west and south. DWD meteorologists recorded up to 460 l/m² in the Alps. The continuous rainfall between 20 and 24 October, caused by the remnants of hurricane ‘Gonzalo’, brought 88.3 l/m2 of rainfall to Jachenau-Tannern on 22 October alone. This caused the snow level to come down to less than

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1000 metres for a short time so that on 23 October, for example, there was a 12 cm blanket of snow in Oy-Mittelberg-Petersthal in the Allgäu.

Autumn was slightly too dull

With 295 hours of sunshine, autumn 2014 saw 5 per cent less sunshine than the average of 311 hours. A stretch of land from the southern Black Forest to the Werdenfelser Land received most sunshine with up to 385 hours. In contrast, dull weather prevailed in the fog-prone areas along the Danube and in some areas of the low mountain ranges, where the amount of sunshine sometimes was below 200 hours.

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