The weather in Germany has not spoiled us yet. Will it continue like this in May? The forecasts suggest a true roller coaster ride.
Offenbach – After the mixed start to spring *, people in Germany are hoping for improvement in May. Especially after the months-long corona lockdown, they want to use the May holidays for hiking, barbecuing or cycling and spend time in nature. So there is great hope for early summer weather * and high temperatures. But what are the predictions for May so far? The experts disagree. Because May is often like a real weather roller coaster ride.
It is true that May in Germany is considered a blissful month with lots of sun and higher temperatures. In the long-term average, it comes to a whopping 210 hours of sunshine. In 2011 and 2018, the sun shone for almost 290 hours in May. The temperatures in May can also scratch the 30-degree mark. However, the weather in May also has its pitfalls: In addition to extreme temperature fluctuations and cold snaps with night frost throughout Germany, violent storms * with storms and thunderstorms * are also possible. Therefore, even experts often find it difficult to make early forecasts. But what are the weather forecasts * for this year?
Weather in Germany: May is like a roller coaster ride – repeated cold snaps
According to the wetter.de portal, May releases us from the bad April cold. Accordingly, a few days could already provide a first foretaste of real summer weather. However, many experts are also certain that occasional advances of cold air can thwart the bill again and again. In the north of Germany, phases of early summer with temperatures of around 25 degrees are expected. It looks different in the west. At the start of May, the weather there brings cold air to the table – with temperatures below 10 degrees and rain *. Only then does May really get going and bring sun and a rise in temperature.
Weather in Germany in May: No major early summer outbreak in sight
However, graduate meteorologist Dominik Jung from the Qmet weather service does not promise the very big early summer outbreak. According to him, the temperature increase is rather meager compared to the May weather of previous years. “According to calculations made by the European and American long-term weather models, May should be 0.5 degrees warmer than the average climate,” says Jung. Compared to the weather of previous years, this deviation is therefore very small. “So it feels like a month that is too cold for many people,” explains the expert to the weather service wetter.net. According to Jung, the usual late night frosts in Germany that the ice saints * bring in mid-May would hardly be noticed. “If the polar air advances continue as they are now, then the ice saints will not be noticed, since we have new cold air advances almost every few days anyway,” he says. A rather gloomy forecast.
| Weather in May | Average values in Germany |
|---|---|
| Mean temperature maximum | 16.8 degrees |
| Mean temperature minimum | 7.2 degrees |
| Mean monthly total precipitation | 69.2 mm |
| Average number of hours of sunshine per day | 6.8 hours |
| Average number of days with precipitation | 11 days |
| Source: German Weather Service |
Germany weather in May: early summer temperatures with an increased risk of falling
However, there is agreement among the weather experts on the subject of precipitation. According to previous forecasts, May 2021 could be a very dry month in large parts of Germany. “March already brought 15 percent too little rainfall. April has currently not even achieved 50 percent of its target and if May turns out to be too dry, then a too dry spring would be sealed again. Not a good starting point for nature and agriculture, ”warns Dominik Jung. Only in the east of the country does the wetter.de portal forecast a month with a lot of rain. The portal also announces an “increased shower tendency” for the south. This certainly does not harm nature, but it clouds people’s anticipation for the first days of summer.
News about the weather *: The latest news about forecasts on our topic page.
With the weather in May almost anything is possible. In the higher altitudes of the Alps, for example, temperatures below freezing point and snow. The hope for a May with lots of sunshine and early summer warmth dies last. Even if the risk of falling is significantly increased in all parts of Germany. It is therefore quite possible that early summer and severe cold spells alternate throughout the month. (Yannick Wenig) * op-online.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
