In Regen, a town in the Bavarian Forest, May was exceptionally wet. The data from the MeteoGroup weather station in the garden of the Regen adult education center confirms that it was the wettest May in 90 years. The entire spring of 2024 was also the warmest on record.
While May 2024 was extremely warm in Scandinavia, temperatures across a wide stretch from Great Britain to Italy were above average as well. Low air pressure and frequent thunderstorm situations brought excessive rainfall, especially to the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Only along the Oder river was it noticeably dry.
In the Bavarian Forest, the impression of an excessively wet month lingers. A staggering 195.6 millimeters of rain fell on 20 days. Compared to the long-term average of 80 millimeters, this was a 244 percent increase. The only wetter May was in 1932, with 196 millimeters of rainfall. The precipitation was concentrated in a few heavy rain events, with 49.7 millimeters falling within 24 hours on May 21, and 44 millimeters on May 31 in the same period.
The average temperature of 14.2°C was 2.2°C above the long-term average. Extreme heat was absent due to prevailing westerly weather patterns. The average high temperature was 19.9°C, with the maximum reaching 24.6°C on May 21. Frost was no longer a concern, with nighttime temperatures dropping to 3.6°C on May 9.
Spring 2024 was the warmest on record. In Regen, the average temperature was 10.1°C, compared to the usual 7.0°C. As a result, most plants started budding about four weeks earlier than usual.
Although June started relatively cool, long-term forecasts suggest that both June and July will be warmer than usual.