Dresden. The Dresden Elbe Valley stayed dry again for a long time this year. So far this month it has only rarely rained. Only a few drops fell twice in the first three weeks. It was not as extremely dry as in previous years.
Because in both 2018 and 2019 there was far too little rain in the summer months. In 2018, from May to November, there was the longest continuous dry period since the rain data was recorded across the board in the Dresden measurement system in 1996.
“The months of this year were very different in terms of precipitation,” says Udo Zimmermann. He is responsible for the evaluation of the 19 Dresden measuring stations at municipal drainage and always has an eye on the amount of rain.
The company operates these, as precipitation plays a major role in the electronic control and expansion of the sewer network.
In barely a month, the amount of rain this year was in line with the long-term average. It was either raining a lot or it was extremely dry. © SZ graphics
One extreme: wet February, August and October
On the one hand, there have been three extremely wet months. At 87 liters per square meter, the mean sum of all Dresden rain recorders in February was 250 percent of the long-term value of the German Weather Service (DWD), Zimmermann explains the start. That was the highest value for this month since records began.
It also rained a lot in August when, at almost 100 liters per square meter, 28 percent more than normal was measured for this month. The long-term DWD average for this month is 78 liters.
October was also extreme when, at around 90 liters, more than double the long-term DWD value was reached. At the Dresden measuring stations there are mostly very different values.
This is also proven by October. In that month, the most precipitation with 114 liters was measured in Klotzsche, in Schönfeld with 113 and in Reick with 105 liters per square meter, the least with 71 liters in the station at the main station.
Alone on 13./14. October fell in Klotzsche, Rochwitz, Tolkewitz and Reick such heavy rain, which statistically only comes every two years.
Only May, June and September were slightly below or within the long-term average of the past few years.
Thick clouds over Dresden. In several months of this year it rained particularly heavily. © René Meinig
At the other extreme, there was almost no rain in November
This year there were again many extremely dry months. It started back in January when 16 liters per square meter was only 35 percent of the long-term DWD average.
It was even drier in April, when only 6.4 liters of rain fell per square meter. The long-term average for the month is 47.3 liters.
This made April the second driest month since the city drainage system began recording rainfall. Only in April 2007 had fallen even less rain at 1.2 liters per square meter.
It was also very dry in July when only 21 percent of the long-term DWD value was measured at 17 liters.
Last month was even more extreme when the average of all rain recorders was 6.1 liters per square meter, which corresponds to eleven percent of the long-term DWD value. “That is so little that one can hardly speak of precipitation,” says Zimmermann.
It rained the most in Schönfeld (9.9 liters / square meter), Rochwitz (8.9 liters) and Tolkewitz (7.7 liters). The least amount of precipitation was recorded at the main station (3.6 liters) and Coschütz and Pieschen measuring stations, each with 3.7 liters per square meter.
It is true that the Elbe water level this year was not as extremely low as in the two previous years. Nevertheless it was dry for a long time. © Sven Ellger
The groundwater: lack of rain has an impact
The past extremely dry years have also had an impact on the groundwater levels. The Environment Agency has been determining the status at 66 municipal measuring points since 2006.
From 2005 to 2007, Dresden was the first major German city to create the municipal system with which the values are recorded electronically, primarily to prevent floods. The state measuring network was no longer sufficient after the flood of the century in 2002.
New groundwater is mainly formed in the winter half of the year, as it usually rains or snows a lot and not as much water evaporates. Since 2015, however, there has been much less replenishment than usual.
That is why the groundwater level has since fallen, which is half a meter below the long-term value on average for all measuring points.
The perspective: less rain and higher temperatures
According to the German Weather Service, the Dresden area is one of the dry areas in the country. As one of the few in East Germany, it was often below the long-term average from 1961 to 1990 in the past three years.
There should be more dry days by the end of the century. It is already raining eleven percent less in Saxony than when the nationwide recording began. The reason is the temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees since then.
If precipitation falls in summer, it should rain more often with heavy rain, according to the forecast.
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