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After July was a washout this year, temperatures are now reaching midsummer highs again in August.
Meteorologists are expecting daily temperatures above 30 degrees this week, in particular.
The intense heat of the weekend was somewhat dampened by a cold front on Monday. Temperatures will then rise to over 35 degrees on Thursday and Friday – possibly the hottest days of the week.
Today, Wednesday, the sky will be completely cloudless. A few more cumulus clouds will form over the mountains, but even here, only isolated local showers or thunderstorms are expected. The wind will be mostly light, with only moderate southeasterly winds in the eastern lowlands. Early morning temperatures will range between 12 and 20 degrees, while daytime highs will reach 28 to 35 degrees.
Thursday will remain sunny and hot. However, the high-pressure influence from the west will decrease somewhat, and a few rain showers or thunderstorms may develop over the mountains of western Austria in the afternoon. Elsewhere, it will remain sunny, with only a few high veil clouds passing through. The wind will be mostly light, with only a moderate southeasterly wind in the east. Early morning temperatures will range between 14 and 20 degrees, while daytime highs will reach 28 to 36 degrees.
On Friday, the high-pressure influence will weaken, and in the western half of Austria, the likelihood of showers and thunderstorms will increase significantly in some areas during the day. It is expected to remain sunny and stable in the east and south. The wind will be light to moderate, blowing from the southeast to the west. Early morning temperatures will range between 15 and 21 degrees, while daytime highs will reach 28 to 36 degrees, with the highest values in the east.
Four to five degrees warmer
“This week’s heat hotspots are in the southeast of the country, i.e., southern Styria, southern Burgenland, and Seewinkel,” the expert emphasizes. Towards the end of the week, the risk of thunderstorms will increase. “I expect sunshine at the beginning of the day, followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon,” Templin forecasts. Temperatures this week are generally above average, four to five degrees above the mean, according to the expert.
Low risk of forest fires
In contrast to areas in southern Europe, the risk of forest fires in Austria is currently still low. “The soil has not dried out after the wet July. If you look at the grass in Vienna, it is much greener than in previous summers,” says the meteorologist.
The weather service Ubimet recorded the cloudiest July since 2011 this year. The month will be one of the four wettest Julys in 168 years of recorded history. The heavy rainfall may not have pleased many people, but it did please nature. “The precipitation was compensation,” says Marc Olefs, climatologist at Geosphere.
June was much too hot, sunny, and dry. Sixty percent of groundwater levels in Austria were at a low point in mid-July – the precipitation did little to change that. The reasons were the past winter with little snow and the spring with little rain.
The effects of prolonged drought and heat are currently being felt most acutely in southern European countries. More than 17,000 hectares have been affected by the largest forest fire in the French Mediterranean region in at least 50 years. One woman died, and more than a dozen people were injured. According to the local prefect, around 2,000 people were unable to return to their evacuated homes for days. He also estimated that 800 to 900 hectares of vineyards had been lost.
Several forest fires are also raging in Greece, claiming one life so far. In Turkey, the Dardanelles had to be closed due to massive fires. Not only Europe, but also the US is currently severely affected by forest fires. A fire called “Canyon Fire” spread rapidly about 60 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles.
- source: kurier.at/picture: pixabay.com
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