August 2024: Extremely warm and sometimes devastating rains in Hesse

August 2024: Extremely warm and sometimes devastating rains in Hesse

August 2024 showed itself in Germany as a month full of weather extreme, with a mixture of unusual heat periods and violent rainfall. According to the first evaluations of the German Weather Service (DWD), the last meteorological summer month experienced a significant increase in temperatures and local flood situations that had devastating consequences in some regions.

Overall, the temperature agent in August was 20.0 degrees Celsius, which was 3.5 degrees above the average of the reference period from 1961 to 1990. This heat resulted primarily from damp and humid air masses that prevailed during the first two decades of the month. Particularly distinctive heat peaks are due to the 13th, 24th and 29th, whereby the highest temperature of the month was recorded on August 13 at 36.5 ° C in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.

precipitation events and their effects

August, however, was also shaped by extreme rainfall, especially in Trendelburg in North Hesse, where the highest daily rainy amount of 169.8 liters per square meter was measured on August 1. This rain turned the region into a real rubble field, which resulted in massive damage to the infrastructure. The affected town of Gottsbüren had to deal with the consequences of the floods, which overrun large parts of the area. While North Hesse struggled with these precipitation, other parts of Hessen experienced months of dry spells with less than 25 liters per square meter, which made regional weather conditions even more extreme.

The amount of precipitation of the entire month was about 61 liters per square meter, which corresponds to 80 percent of the average of the reference period from 1961 to 1990. In comparison to 1991 to 2020, August was also dryer, which makes the flood events all the more astonishing. Some regions, such as the Berchtesgadener Land, saw over 200 liters of precipitation, which illustrates the differences within the country.

special sunshine statistics

not only the rainfall, but also the sun moved into the sky in August: with a proud 262 hours of sunshine, the month exceeded the target of 200 hours. This represents a positive deviation of around 30 percent. The sunniest regions in the country were found in the northeast and southwest of Germany, where over 300 hours were measured locally. In contrast, the Alps and the extreme northwest only experienced about 220 hours of sunshine.

Overall, August 2024 was an extreme example of how unpredictable the weather can be. While the month puts high temperatures and record -breaking sunshine in the foreground, he also brings catastrophic precipitation and its consequences. The discrepancy between regions shows how different the climate within Germany can be and leaves space for discussions about the progress of climate change and its effects on the weather in the future.