- DWD: July was too wet, too warm and yet sunny
Thunderstorms, heavy rain, and plenty of sunshine on some days: July's weather, according to an initial survey by the weather service, was changeable.
The average temperature in the month that just ended was 18.9 degrees Celsius, which was 2.0 degrees above the internationally valid reference period of 1961 to 1990, the German Weather Service (DWD) announced after initial evaluation of the results from its approximately 2,000 measuring stations.
The highest values could still drop
So far, the warmest it has been was in Bad Muskau (Saxony), where 34.8 degrees were measured on July 10. This value could still be exceeded today or on Wednesday, a DWD spokesperson told the German Press Agency.
The DWD also registered the coolest value so far in Saxony: Towards the end of the month, temperatures dropped significantly at night - in Deutschneudorf-Brüderwiese on the border with the Czech Republic, the nationwide low of 3.8 degrees was measured on July 30.
Overall, there was a clear north-west to south-east gradient in the number of summer days with more than 25 degrees. While there were a maximum of two to ten summer days in the north and north-west, there were up to over 20 in the east and south.
Frequent heavy rain and severe thunderstorms
"The sky opened its floodgates frequently in the second summer month of the year," the DWD described it. With 88 liters per square meter, it was wetter than the reference period of 1961 to 1990 (78 liters per square meter). Compared to the wetter period of 1991 to 2020 (87 liters per square meter), however, July 2024 was very average.
The north-west and south of the country received the most rain, while in the south-west and east, rain was only observed on five to ten days. South of the Danube, 150 to 250 liters per square meter fell - the wettest region in Germany so far this July. Relatively dry were North Saxony, parts of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and the south-west with 20 to 40 liters per square meter.
The rain often came down in the form of heavy rain, sometimes with thunderstorms. This happened, for example, on July 21 in Steinfurt-Burgsteinfurt (North Rhine-Westphalia) - with almost 79 liters, the highest daily total.
Sunshine shows up more often
The sun shone on average for 237 hours in July. That was significantly more sunshine hours than in the comparison period of 1961 to 1990 (211 hours). If the more recent comparison period of 1991 to 2020 (226 hours) is taken into account, it shows only a slightly above-average value. The south-east half was clearly preferred, as it had 230 to 260 sunshine hours. In the north-west half, there were 200 to 230 sunshine hours.
According to the DWD, the sunniest federal state was Brandenburg with 258 sunshine hours (223 in the comparison period). There were the fewest sunshine hours in North Rhine-Westphalia, where it shone for around 211 (comparison period: 187) hours.
The weather causes frustration for pool operators
The "swinging weather" is not yet making the communal pool operators very happy. In June, visitor numbers were sometimes only half of what they were in 2023, a spokesperson for the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) said. However, there were also increases of up to over 10 percent compared to the previous year. The staff situation is still tense. Only very rarely have there been any incidents regarding safety and guest behavior - no pool had to close due to this, according to the VKU spokesperson.
The changeable weather during July included frequent heavy rain and severe thunderstorms, making it wetter than the reference period of 1961 to 1990. Despite the frequent rain, sunshine hours were also slightly above average, particularly in the south-east half of the country.
