Baden-Württemberg braces for season's hottest days as mercury climbs to 35°C
After a transitional Tuesday, Baden-Württemberg faces its hottest days of the year later this week. Temperatures are forecast to reach 35°C by Thursday, accompanied by possible tropical nights and heat thunderstorms, the German Weather Service (DWD) reports.
The forecast day by day
Tuesday (16 June) will serve as a transition day, with widespread high clouds and occasional rain. Daytime highs will range from 24 degrees on the Bavarian border to 28 degrees in Nordbaden and up to 31 degrees in the Markgräflerland. Overnight into Wednesday, skies stay cloudy with possible last showers and lows between 12 and 17 degrees.
On Wednesday, the sun will increasingly break through. Mountain areas can expect 27 degrees, while the southern Oberrhein region may hit 33 degrees. A weak to moderate northwest wind will accompany the warming trend.
Thursday will bring abundant sunshine, though cumulus clouds may develop. In the Black Forest and on the Swabian Alb, isolated heat thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon and evening. Temperatures will continue to rise, reaching around 30 degrees in the hills and up to 35 degrees along the Oberrhein. This marks the hottest weather of the year so far for the state, though the all‑time record of roughly 40 degrees will not be broken, the DWD notes.
- Transitional day with clouds and rain; highs 24–31°C.
- Sunny with weak northwest wind; highs 27–33°C.
- Mostly sunny, isolated heat thunderstorms; highs 30–35°C.
Where will it be hottest?
The peak heat will concentrate in the Breisgau region. The DWD singles out the areas around Freiburg, Offenburg, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim as the sweat‑spots. Freiburg is a recurring hotspot because of its low elevation in Germany’s far south and its direct exposure to hot air streams from Spain and France.
That is a hotspot in the truest sense of the word.
Its location in the Oberrheingraben also helps trap warm air masses. In contrast, the elevated parts of the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb, particularly the Feldberg, will be markedly cooler. The safest escape from the heat, meteorologists suggest, may be the region’s outdoor pools.
Heat thunderstorms and tropical nights
After several very hot days, the risk of heat thunderstorms grows. They form when strongly heated air rises and meets cooler layers aloft. Such storms typically develop first over the low mountain ranges like the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb, but their exact timing remains hard to predict until a few days out. They can bring heavy rain, storm‑force gusts, hail, and lightning.
Tropical nights, defined by the DWD as nights when the temperature stays above 20 degrees, are possible towards the weekend, especially in Stuttgart, Mannheim, and the Breisgau. The heatwave’s full duration is still uncertain, with no weather change signaled for the start of next week.
What is driving the heat?
A warm front from France is moving into the southwest, causing temperatures to climb step by step. The DWD says the current event is fuelled by warm air masses from the Mediterranean and southwestern Europe. Whether the global climate phenomenon El Niño is playing a role cannot be determined from the present data, according to DWD experts. For the season, however, the values are already unusual and approach record territory.
