Forecast shows more “catastrophic” heat heading for Germany

According to the German Weather Service (DWD), temperatures over 30 degrees celsius will return to Germany this weekend. A longer-term forecast suggests another heat dome is coming our way.

Highs of 33C return to Germany this weekend

In June, Germany’s all-time heat records were broken, and early July brought us brief respite with cooler temperatures. Now, highs of 33 degrees are forecast to return to the federal republic.

According to the DWD, temperatures will reach 30 degrees in Saarbrücken and Frankfurt on Thursday evening, with highs of 29 degrees expected in Stuttgart and 28 degrees in Cologne and Konstanz. Things will stay cooler up north, between 20 and 24 degrees, until the weekend.

Friday will bring highs of 33 degrees in Frankfurt, 32 degrees in Saarbrücken, 31 degrees in Cologne and Stuttgart and 30 degrees in Nuremberg and Munich. Again, things will be cooler further north, with highs of between 22 and 27 degrees expected across Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin and Rostock.

According to BBC Weather, temperatures of 30 degrees or more will persist in Nuremberg and Munich until Sunday, in Frankfurt, Cologne and Stuttgart until Wednesday next week, and in Saarbrücken until Friday next week.

Germany may see another heat dome in July

One longer-term forecast suggests that another heat dome is heading for Germany before the summer is up. Referring to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predictions, meteorologist Jörg Kachelmann said weather in the coming months could be “quite catastrophic”.

“The Azores High [high-pressure system] is gaining the upper hand, with temperatures climbing again across much of the country to between 27 and 33 degrees by the middle of the month, and the first tropical nights expected south of the Saarland–Nuremberg line,” he told t-online.

Kachelmann said current cool weather following the recent heatwave was “just a brief breather”. According to the ECMWF, which publishes a weather forecast for the coming 48 days, Germany will see a summer characterised by higher pressure and dry weather. 

Interpreting the ECMWF forecast, another meteorologist, Dominik Jung, said high-pressure systems in the second half of July could bring another heat dome over Germany, with temperatures rising day by day.

In the most recent heatwave, Germany’s all-time heat record was broken when 41,8 degrees was recorded in Möckern-Drewitz in Saxony-Anhalt. According to Jung, a new record could be set around the end of July to the beginning of August, when temperatures are typically the hottest. “I would classify this as possible, but not the base scenario,” Jung told t-online.