Image: Volker Weihbold
The shady spots at Upper Austria’s bathing lakes and in the outdoor pools will be in short supply in the coming days. The hottest day of the current heat wave is already expected today, Saturday: With highs of 34 to 38 degrees, the temperatures are approaching the July record from 1957 of 39 degrees in Enns, in the mountains there are up to 26 degrees expected. “Thanks to the support of the foehn weather situation, the midsummer weather will last until Wednesday. The temperatures will reach between 28 and 32 degrees,” says meteorologist Claudia Riedl from GeoSphere Austria.
Eleven hot days in July 2023
Cooling – according to the meteorologist “daily highs of less than 30 degrees” – is not expected until Thursday. However, there is currently no danger of tropical nights (all night with a minimum temperature of 20 degrees) in Upper Austria: “At night, temperatures range between 15 and 20 degrees, but tropical nights are generally rare here,” says Riedl.
The hottest July since weather records began is no longer to be expected this year. With eleven hot days that were recorded in Linz in July 2023, a record can no longer be broken, says expert Riedl. “The summer of 2008 was very hot, in July 2015 we were talking about 18 hot days. We won’t reach that number again this year.”
For Riedl, it is only a matter of time before the number of hot days will increase further in the coming years: in the middle of the century, i.e. 2050, 40 degrees in summer will be normal in Central Europe. “In the long term, we also have to reckon with up to 60 hot days a year – that is for almost two months. The consequences of not investing in climate protection are: We will have to pay for the effects of climate change. It will be without air conditioning then it will hardly work anymore,” says the GeoSphere expert to the OÖN.
The all-clear is given with regard to the risk of thunderstorms: According to the meteorologist, the weather situation remains stable, only isolated showers and brief thunderstorms can occur on Tuesday.
- Current weather forecasts for your region can be found at nachrichten.at/wetter
On the dog days, a dip in the cool water helps
The midsummer temperatures are heading for an annual record this weekend, so cooling down is urgently needed. How cool are the Upper Austrian lakes and rivers? The OÖN asked on Friday.
The people of Linz are lucky, because a dip in the Danube is a real refreshment at a water temperature of 21 degrees. The Pleschinger See in Steyregg, just a few kilometers away, and the Pichlinger See can’t keep up: according to Linz AG, both bathing waters are already 27 degrees. The Feldkirch bathing lakes are about one degree cooler.
It is reliably cool in the Rodlwaldbad in Gramastetten: the water is 20 degrees, according to the pool buffet yesterday. The Traun might be a tip for the hardened. According to the measuring point of the hydrographic service in Ebensee, the river showed a water temperature of 18 degrees yesterday afternoon. Both the Attersee and the Traunsee are ideal for paddling and swimming.
The Great Lakes: 22 to 23 degrees
The former reached a temperature of 22 to 23 degrees yesterday, according to data from the hydrographic service of the state of Upper Austria. The values for the Traunsee are similar at 22 degrees Celsius. The water temperature of the Mondsee was 23.5 degrees yesterday at noon, that of the Wolfgangsee 22.5 degrees.
In any case, mountain lakes offer the perfect way to cool down. The Vorderer and Hinterer Gosausee are currently 19 to 20 degrees, according to the Inner Salzkammergut Tourist Association.
On the other hand, those who like it “bacherl warm” are drawn to the Innviertel: Lake Herating, also known as Ibmer Lake, is already 27 degrees, as is the neighboring Holzöstersee.
Source: Nachrichten
