Munich (dpa / lby) – Bavaria was the country of temperature records this winter. In Heinersreuth-Vollhof in the Bayreuth district, the lowest temperature in Germany was measured on December 18 at minus 19.3 degrees, the German Weather Service (DWD) announced on Monday. On December 31, it was almost 40 degrees warmer: In Wielenbach in Upper Bavaria, the thermometer rose to an early summer 20.8 degrees, more than anywhere else in Germany on New Year’s Eve.

Based on all three winter months, Bavaria was the coolest federal state – with an average of 1.9 degrees. The mean temperature throughout Germany was 2.9 degrees. This means that the winter of 2022/2023 was 2.7 degrees too warm, according to the DWD, which speaks of the twelfth winter that was too warm in a row. Rain and snow hardly fell in many places. For Bavaria, the DWD reported 147 liters of precipitation per square meter (previous year: 200 liters), significantly less than the 170 liters in all of Germany. Exceptions were the Fichtelgebirge, the Bavarian Forest and areas on the Alps with 300 liters per square meter.

Most of the sun was in the foothills of the Alps. According to the DWD, she appeared in the holiday region for more than 240 hours. The average was 185 hours across Bavaria and around 160 hours nationwide. After Baden-Württemberg, the Free State was the second sunniest federal state. In winter a year ago, the sun only shined for an average of 171 hours in Bavaria.

Just in time for the start of spring on March 1, the weather, which brought snow and ice in many places on Monday, should then show its nice side: “Lots of sun on Wednesday,” says the DWD forecast. Only in the foothills of the Alps can there be high fog for a long time.