From frost to early spring – December can do it all

Large differences in temperature, masses of snow, storms and floods – December is often a month full of extremes.

This year, December started sunny in many places. Last year, however, there was already a solid blanket of snow at the beginning of the month. Up to three quarters of all measuring stations in Germany reported snow.

Heavy snowfall in BavariaDecember 2023

Many people stayed that way snowy Christmas 2010 well remembered. Regionally, there were record snow depths of 30 to 70 centimeters in the lowlands.

But also in December 2022 Snowfall and freezing temperatures had us firmly under control in many places until shortly before Christmas. In other years, winter was rather toothless and resembled November.

Icy winter versus breath of spring

The most extreme December cold waves of the 20th century occurred in 1939, 1962 and 1969, when longer stretches with lows below minus 20 degrees were recorded.

The other extreme is also possible: In December 2015, the low mountain ranges and the Alps remained snow-free and almost frost-free up to an altitude of 1,500 meters. Instead, many days were spring-like warm with highs of 10 to 15 degrees.

The highest peak temperature occurred on December 16, 1989. At that time it was almost a summery 24 degrees in Müllheim, south of Freiburg. The warmest Christmas we experienced it in 2012.

Flood events and strong storms

Heavy, continuous rain caused massive damage in some years, such as shortly before Christmas 2023. We show impressions of this in the video:

One of the most devastating storms of the 20th century was Hurricane LOTHAR. It swept across France, southern Germany and the Alpine region on Boxing Day 1999.

1999: The Christmas hurricane LOTHARMost expensive storm in Europe

It was just as violent Orkan ANATOL on December 3rd and 4th, 1999, which caused millions of dollars in damage, especially in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Several people lost their lives.

Lows target us14 day weather