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Thousands of records shattered in historic winter warm spell in Europe [1]

['Ian Livingston']

Date: 2023-01-02

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As 2022 turned to 2023, an exceptionally strong wintertime heat dome pounced on much of Europe, producing unprecedented warmth for January. As temperatures soared 18 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 20 Celsius) above normal from France to western Russia, thousands of records were broken between Saturday and Monday — many by large margins.

The extreme warm spell followed a record-warm year in many parts of Europe and provided yet another example of how human-caused climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of such extraordinary weather events.

On New Year’s Day, at least seven countries saw their warmest January weather on record as temperatures surged to springtime levels: Latvia hit 52 degrees (11.1 Celsius); Denmark 54.7 degrees (12.6 Celsius); Lithuania 58.3 degrees (14.6 Celsius); Belarus 61.5 degrees (16.4 Celsius); the Netherlands 62.4 degrees (16.9 Celsius); Poland 66.2 degrees (19.0 Celsius); and the Czech Republic 67.3 degrees (19.6 Celsius).

We just observed the warmest January day on record for many countries in Europe.



Truly unprecedented in modern records. pic.twitter.com/bUux1XOBH9 — Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) January 1, 2023

Those who track worldwide weather records described the warm spell as historic and could hardly believe its scope and magnitude.

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Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks global weather extremes, called the event “totally insane” and “absolute madness” in text messages to the Capital Weather Gang. He wrote that some of the high nighttime temperatures observed were uncommon in midsummer.

It’s “the most extreme event ever seen in European climatology,” Herrera wrote. “Nothing stands close to this.”

Guillaume Séchet, a broadcast meteorologist in France, agreed, tweeting that Sunday was one of the most incredible days in Europe’s climate history.

“The intensity and extent of warmth in Europe right now is hard to comprehend,” tweeted Scott Duncan, a meteorologist based in London.

One of the most severe winter heatwave in Europe’s modern history visualized over the last 2 days. Hundreds of monthly warm temperature records were broken all over the continent. This is exactly the kind of very abnormal event that is progressively rewriting global climatology. pic.twitter.com/Nb8ImytqYC — Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) January 1, 2023

Here are some of the most impressive records that were set in Europe on New Year’s Day:

While the most extreme temperatures occurred on New Year’s Day, exceptionally mild weather began on New Year’s Eve.

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Scores of calendar day and monthly records fell on Saturday, surpassing marks set just a year before in many instances.

The Czech Republic’s weather service tweeted that the country posted its warmest New Year’s Eve on record. Prague, with 247 years of measurements, set a new monthly maximum of 63.9 degrees (17.7 Celsius).

Here are some of the more significant temperature records set Saturday:

Monday marked the third day of widespread high temperatures previously unheard of in midwinter. Many more monthly and daily records were set in the eastern half of Europe, particularly in Germany, Hungary, Romania and Russia.

By Tuesday, the places where temperatures will be the most above-average are likely to shift toward Ukraine. After that, the warmth should ease some.

It's 8.5 C / 47 F right now at the Chamrousse ski resort outside Grenoble, France. Almost no snow at the 1800 m village and open ground along the 2250 m ski runs. Grenoble valley itself 19-20 C / 66-68 C under a foehn. Webcam images from https://t.co/pKN4KRBnJB pic.twitter.com/YCGrIxoCtw — Pete D. Akers (@PeteScientist) January 1, 2023

This exceptional wintertime warmth comes on the heels of the warmest 2022 in many parts of Europe, including in the U.K., Germany and Switzerland.

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Extreme heat visited Europe in waves throughout the year and was intensified by a historically severe summer drought. The combination helped push the United Kingdom to 104 degrees (40 Celsius) for the first time on record in July.

Although the warmth is slowly easing in Europe as Arctic air creeps in from the northeast, above-normal temperatures are forecast for much of the mainland region through at least Jan. 10. After that, the forecast is a little less clear, but a cooler pattern could emerge by mid-month.

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[1] Url: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/01/02/record-warm-new-year-europe/

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