After a week of stable high pressure and temperatures around 20 °C, cooler, changeable north-westerly weather is on the cards for the weekend. However, it is still unclear whether there will be significant snow or just significant wind.
Current situation
The past few days have been characterized by warm, sunny days and cold, clear nights. While joggers run through the city in T-shirts and shorts during the day, temperatures still drop below freezing in many places at night. Daytime temperatures can reach up to 20 degrees, especially in the valleys, where the volume of air to be warmed is smaller than over the plains. In the German lowlands, daily highs of 20°C and more have already been reached. Due to the persistent drought and the warm weather, the risk of forest fires is increasing in some areas of eastern Germany.
This winter's unusual phenology has also been the subject of much discussion. Phenology is the study of periodically recurring developmental phenomena in nature over the course of the year and is therefore a popular topic of conversation in the local allotment garden club, or a good substitute for the tiresome small-talk topic of weather-as-such. Instead of having this kind of conversation with random chairlift acquaintances:
This year you can also break the ice very well with "the crocuses in my garden have already bloomed in mid-January!", or "unbelievable how the hazel catkins are already sprouting!", or even: "when I was harvesting wild garlic in the forest the other day, I already mating avocets!".
The DWD has broken this down very scientifically in this graphic and found that "the greening of the permanent grassland" is currently taking place two weeks earlier than usual. (Highly scientific means that you only understand a graphic after at least half an hour of intensive study.)
Outlook
The almost summery spring is coming to an end, at least temporarily. On Saturday, the long wave trough over Eastern Europe will also gain influence in the Alpine region and we will move into a north to north-westerly current on its rear side. With high wind speeds (!), it will become increasingly wet in the north from midday on Saturday, while the weather in the south is likely to last a little longer with north föhn. The further development is still uncertain. How sustainable the onset of winter will be depends on the position of the Azores High and whether it manages to establish an Atlantic blockade. However, the T-shirt weather will be over from the weekend, at least in the mountains.
The WeatherBlog strongly recommends addressing the potential effects of the late onset of winter on the greening grassland on your next lift ride.
