Weather on New Year’s Eve: Why record temperatures are expected in Germany – knowledge
It is not yet clear whether 2022 will be the hottest year ever measured in Germany – so far it has been neck and neck with 2018, the previous record holder, and no, it is of course no coincidence that these two hot years are so short occur one after the other, but is due to the climate crisis. However, it is already foreseeable that the hot year will end meteorologically with a bang: it looks like it could be the warmest turn of the year in Germany since measurements began.
In the north and northwest of Germany it could be more than 15 degrees, in the south and especially on the Upper Rhine sometimes even 20 degrees and more – the previous record for New Year’s Eve is 17 degrees, reached in 1961 in Müllheim in Baden. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), this is also due to the extraordinary Cold snap in North America producing historic snowstorm in parts of Canada and USA around Christmas Has.
The cold has been able to advance far south from the Arctic because the jet stream, which normally blows steadily from west to east around the Arctic, has made a wide arc to the south. From the east coast of the US, however, the cold air did not flow back north, but continued with the usual westerly flow across the Atlantic, where this also caused a strong and extensive low-pressure area.
The southwest flow alone is not enough for extreme values
This in turn has pushed the high pressure area that otherwise prevails over the Azores to the east, towards the Mediterranean, where it has settled in a kind of blockade. The low rotates counterclockwise, the high east of it clockwise, so between them the two pull very warm air from Northwest Africa and the Canary Islands to Central Europe.
In order for this current, which is not so unusual in itself, to lead to such extreme temperatures as the DWD expects, further ingredients must be added: Firstly, the sunshine, for the the extended high over southern and central Europe could worry. This additionally heats the air on the ground. On the other hand, the wind, which mixes the air that has cooled down during the night with warmer air – there could also be more than enough of that. The strong pressure differences mean that violent gusts of wind can be expected, which should also be taken into account with the New Year’s Eve fireworks.
It is therefore not unlikely that the previous Germany-wide records for both 31.12. as well as for January 1st. However, the December record should hardly be in danger, it is currently even at 24 degrees Celsius, reached in 1989 on December 16 in Müllheim. On New Year’s Day, when it’s supposed to be extraordinarily warm in the south, there could possibly even be a new monthly record. So far it has been 20.5 degrees, recorded on January 10, 2015 in Piding in south-eastern Bavaria.
