BERLIN, May 25 -- The weather in Germany could be as full of surprises as the
soccer during the World Cup, with cold fronts, heatwaves, heavy rain, bright
blue skies or severe thunderstorms among the myriad of possibilities.
A view of the new
railway station 'Berlin Hauptbahnhof' in Berlin May 16,
2006.[Reuters] |
Weather forecasters are loath to predict more than seven days ahead even
though computers have improved the reliability of medium-range outlooks to 95
percent since the last World Cup held here in 1974.
Past June-July weather data is also a poor guide because the northern
European country with both continental and maritime influences can have damp and
chilly weather or hot and dry spells. Some years have maddening bouts of both in
quick succession.
"You can't predict what will happen in June because there will always be
surprises," said Gerhard Lux, a meteorologist at the Deutscher Wetterdienst
(DWD), the national weather service.
"Everything is possible," he told Reuters. "It depends on many factors,
especially on whether the prevailing winds are from the west, which are often
wet and cool.
"Or they could be from the north, which are often cold, or southwesterly
winds, which are moist and warm, or from the south, which are hot, or southeast,
which are dry," Lux said.
Because heavy rain played a role in 1974, especially when the West Germany
hosts beat Poland 1-0 in the "Wasserschlacht von Frankfurt" ("Water battle of
Frankfurt"), the heavens will be on the minds of players, coaches, fans and
bookmakers.
HAIL STORM
The historical data show a wide range. The June average is 15.4 degrees
Celsius but a June average low record of 11.2 was set in 1923 and an average
high of 19.4 in 2003. An all-time June low of 2.4 degrees below zero was
recorded in Obertsdorf in 1962 and a high of 38.2 degrees was set in 1947 in
Frankfurt.
A storm with tennis-ball-size hail hit Munich on July 12, 1984, injuring 300
people and causing a record 3 billion marks ($1.4 billion) in damages to cars
and buildings. There have also been tornados and severe thunderstorms in June in
recent years.
June weather can be unsettled but farmers and weather-watchers pay attention
to some key dates.
