German Weather

German Brief’s monthly weather review for April 2024

Summary: Record high temperatures but also frost and snow

(All temperatures in degrees Celsius.)

Typical April weather with record highs but also frost and snow

May 2024: From summer to winter and back again - that's what this year's April weather offered. Nature was given a real boost at the start of the month, as a hot air mass was brought to Germany from North Africa. Towards the middle of the month, there was a significant change in the weather, partly due to a strong cold front. The influx of polar air masses resulted in typical April weather with rain, snow and sleet showers.

There was even significant snowfall in the mountains and the Alps. Fruit and wine growers suffered losses caused by air frost in the second half of April. Frost damage was reported in wine-producing areas like the Kaiserstuhl, between Freiburg and the Rhine.

Spring returned at the end of the month with higher temperatures. Precipitation was slightly above average and sun worshippers enjoyed an average amount of sunshine, although there were significant regional differences.

Frost damage in wine-producing areas

At just under 10.0 degrees Celsius (°C), the average temperature in April 2024 was a good 2.6 degrees above average. The month was once again far too mild, but it is still a long way off the record of 12.3 degrees set in 2018. The large temperature fluctuations were particularly noticeable. On 6 April, a temperature of 30º was recorded in sheltered places of the Upper Rhine valley. However, it was also hot in many other regions in early April.

In contrast, temperatures dropped towards the middle of the month. The lowest temperature of almost minus 9º was recorded on the 23rd in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) at -8.8 °C. The night frosts caused considerable damage to early-flowering trees and shrubs.

Wet in the west of the country but much drier in the east

Around 64 litres per square meter (l/m²) of precipitation fell in April 2024, corresponding to an increase of around 44 per cent compared to the period 1991 to 2020 (45 l/m²). However, the amount of rain and snow varied greatly across Germany. While one and a half to two times the average amount of April precipitation was observed in the north-western half of the country, in the East much drier conditions occurred. Around Berlin, in particular, only around 20 l/m² fell. Parts of the Bayerischer Wald (Bavarian Forest) recorded more than double that in one day on the 19th with almost 50 l/m². Snow fell in the mountains of Bavaria, the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and the Alps.

Not a month for sunbathing

Sunshine was below average. The sun shone for 150 hours in April which was well below the average of 183 hours for the last 30-year period. In the northwest and north, compact cloud coverage repeatedly made it difficult for sun worshippers. They fared better in the east and south of the country, where the sun shone for between 150 and 175 hours in some regions.

Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst (German's National Weather Service)

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