Drought: Rain brought only sporadic relief

GeoSphere Austria’s monitoring stations recorded significant rainfall only in the Innviertel, the Wechsel region and the Mürztal. Although it has rained in many parts of the country, the amounts of rainfall were far too low.

It has rained almost everywhere in Austria over the past 48 hours. Only the Waldviertel and Mostviertel regions saw no rainfall. In the district capital Zwettl, there was a total of 22 millimetres of rainfall between 1 March and 7 May. However, the average for the period from 1991 to 2020 is 101 millimetres. The deficit is therefore around 80 per cent.

The situation in the Lungau region is even more dramatic. The Tamsweg weather station recorded just ten millimetres of rainfall between 1 March and 7 May, which corresponds to a deficit of just under 90 per cent. ‘It did rain in Tamsweg too. But only two millimetres from Thursday to Friday,’ reports climatologist Alexander Orlik from GeoSphere Austria. ‘So there has been no relief there at all.’ The Lungau is generally not a region with high rainfall. The annual rainfall is 785 millimetres. ‘That is comparable to Vienna,’ says Orlik.

The situation in the Vienna Basin, south of the capital, has improved slightly. Although Wiener Neustadt saw a 74 per cent shortfall in rainfall between 1 March and 7 May, 20 millimetres of rain fell there on Thursday. ‘That brings the total to 42 millimetres – but we’re still half a millimetre short of the average,’ adds climatologist Orlik.

The situation is no better in Mürzzuschlag, Styria. There, 46 millimetres of rainfall fell between 1 March and 7 May – 71 per cent less than the 1991–2020 average (160 millimetres). However, 24 millimetres of rain fell on 7 May alone. This in turn means that the rainfall deficit stood at 86 per cent by 6 May. Orlik: ‘There is still no sign of a significant improvement here either.’

Compared to the 1991–2020 average, Vienna also recorded huge deficits from 1 March to 7 May (39 millimetres instead of 108), as did Linz (30 millimetres instead of 130) and Klagenfurt (26 millimetres instead of 124). Even at the Loibl Pass, which has received 45 millimetres of rain over the past 72 hours, it is still far too dry.

Alexander Orlik’s conclusion: ‘Over the past 48 hours, it has rained first in the west and then in the east. With a few exceptions – Semmering, Wechsel, the Vienna Basin, Burgenland and the Innviertel – it remains very dry across almost the whole of Austria, however.’

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)