Drought and Floods: A Record Summer of Extremes
It has been a summer of crazy weather, according to the German Weather Service. A searing heatwave in July was followed by the wettest August since records began in 1881.
It has been a summer of record-breaking weather in Germany, with extreme heat and drought followed by the wettest August on record, the German Weather Service has announced.
Then came August with storms and heavy rain causing severe flooding. August had the highest rainfall for that month since records started being kept in 1881. Yet despite the rain, the searing heat in July will end up making the summer of 2010 the eighth or ninth hottest since records began.
The German Weather Service said on Monday that its 2,100 measuring stations recorded an average temperature of 17.8 degrees Celsius (64.22 degrees Fahrenheit) during the summer, 1.5 degrees above the long-term average. It was even hotter in 2003, when temperatures were 3.3 degrees above average.
Rainfall this summer at 291 liters per square meter was 21 percent above average, thanks to a sodden August in which precipitation was 157 liters, more than twice the average for the month. Yet the sun shone for 662 hours from June until the end of August, 10 percent above average.
cro -- with wire reports
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