The weather in Germany in January 2015

Year of record temperatures in 2014 followed by a much too warm January 2015

Offenbach, 30 January 2015 – Frequent weather systems coming in from the west brought varied weather to Germany in January 2015. Everything was included, from spring-like warmth with record temperatures and severe storms to brief wintry interludes. Overall, the month was very mild with high precipitation and little sunshine. This is what the initial analysis by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) of data from its around 2,000 weather stations shows.

Periods of spring-like warmth with record temperatures

Following on from the year of 2014, which was the warmest since records began, January 2015, too, saw a positive temperature anomaly. At 2.1 degrees Celsius (°C), the average temperature was 2.6 degrees higher than the international reference value for 1961 to 1990 of -0.5°C. Compared to the warmer period 1981 to 2010, the deviation was +1.7°C. The influence of high pressure prevailed at the start of the month, but brought weather with little cloud cover only to the south. This caused the temperature over the snow cover existing there to fall and give hard frosts. Leutkirch-Herlazhofen in the Württemberg part of the Allgäu recorded the lowest temperature in January with -15.2°C in the night to 1 January. After that, lively westerly winds, which generally brought very mild air masses, prevailed under the influence of low pressure during the first twenty days of the month. On 10 January, the storm depression ‘Felix’ brought spring-like warmth to Germany. For the first time ever, the temperatures in January rose to a record of over 20°C. Piding in Upper Bavaria saw a temperature of 20.5°C.

January too wet because of repeated precipitation

Precipitation in January 2015 was significantly more than normal. With 87 litres per square metre (l/m2), it exceeded the average precipitation of 61 l/m2 by 42 per cent. Active low pressure systems arriving in Europe from the Atlantic were responsible for the high levels of rain and snow. Most precipitation fell in the Black Forest, where up to 300 l/m2 was recorded. Precipitation in some places in the Thuringian basin and in the northern and eastern foothills of the Harz Mountains was, at less than 30 l/m², comparatively low. The highest daily figure was recorded at the Sankt Blasien-Menzenschwand station in the Black Forest, where 59 l/m² was registered on 3 January when the small low pressure system ‘Alexander’ passed over southern Germany towards the south-east. The majority of low mountain ranges experience a prolonged 1/2

period of lack of snow. A blanket of snow only covered these mountains and the foothills of the Alps at the beginning and during the last ten days of the month. The snow cover became thicker at the end of the month.

Slightly negative figure for total sunshine

In Germany, the figure of about 35 hours of sunshine for January 2015 was around 19 per cent below the normal 44 hours. With up to 70 hours, the Allgäu and the Bavarian Oberland enjoyed most sunshine, whereas some areas in the Vogelsberg and Thuringian Forest saw fewer than 20 hours.

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