RHEINHESSEN – Many sunny, warm days await us over the Easter weekend, and also beyond, as our weather expert, the qualified meteorologist Dominik Jung, reports. However, an exception with a bang effect is possible.
What can you say about March?
March was interesting. It was 1.6 degrees too warm compared to the climate mean – even if the last week of March felt completely different. On March 24th we had temperatures of minus 3.9 degrees and even minus 8.5 on the ground, which we hardly reached all winter. This phase was strongly shaped by sunshine, which is why we had 57 percent more hours of sunshine than usual. This was mainly due to the high-pressure weather conditions in the last two weeks of autumn. However, the high-pressure area was positioned in such a way that primarily cool air masses came to us, first from Eastern, then from Northern Europe. The seven frost days were on the last ten days of March.
We saw a lot of sun and very little rain, only three quarters of the long-term average.
It was a repeat of the past two years. The drought began in March 2018 and 2019, which then dragged on for many months.
We currently have the best nightlife and beer garden weather. It tempts you to do all sorts of things that you are not allowed to do at the moment. Will it stay that way?
I can’t say whether the prohibitions will remain that way (laughs). The weather stays for now. We currently have 13 hours of sunshine and up to 24 degrees. It remains similarly warm until Holy Saturday, but with a few clouds and therefore a little less hours of sunshine. Afterwards it seems to continue warm, on Easter Sunday 22, 23 degrees are also expected – but also a shower. And even the first thunderstorm of the year in Rheinhessen is possible.
How does that come?
The air is still relatively warm, moisture seeps in and the atmosphere is layered somewhat unstably. This gives it showers and with a certain probability also some thunder. But it should be over on Easter Monday.
What does the medium-term perspective look like, will it stay warmer and drier than usual?
It looks like this even after Easter, yes. Until April 23, except Easter Sunday, there is no rain in sight, at temperatures around 20 to 23 degrees and with lots of sunshine. This April will be a very dry, warm month. As of May, things look similar today.
What do the climate models predict for the upcoming summer?
This is ambiguous, there are currently many white areas of color on the models. This indicates average temperatures and average rainfall. The models still need a little time to find a direction. We have had constant high pressure for two weeks, which is reminiscent of the last two spring years. We had the otherwise more frequent west weather in February and the first week of March, and there were already floods in places. But that is yesterday’s snow again. Due to the strong, cold east wind of the past two weeks, the soils on the surface are already very dry.
The timing is not wrong. Suppose we had bad weather and couldn’t go out the door – the risk of storage panic would be much greater.
Those who have a garden will be able to go outside every day. And a study from Italy said that dry weather is not bad at all to contain the coronavirus, which can be better transported in moisture. In very dry air, the virus is unable to attach itself well to particles that fly through the area. And you can refuel with vitamin D to strengthen the immune system.
