Winter 2024/25: mild and very dry

GeoSphere Austria’s preliminary winter balance: driest winter for 28 years and one of the 15 warmest winters in recorded history. 15 per cent more hours of sunshine than average.

The meteorological winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) brought unusually little precipitation. ‘Very often this winter there were high-pressure weather conditions that deflected low-pressure areas to the north or south of Europe,’ says Alexander Orlik from GeoSphere Austria, ’seen over the entire area of Austria, the meteorological winter of 2024/25 brought 45 per cent less precipitation than an average winter. It was the driest winter in 28 years - since the winter of 1996/97 - and one of the ten driest winters in recorded history.’

Close to drought records in places

In some regions, this winter’s precipitation levels are close to drought records.

At the Vienna Hohe Warte weather station, for example, 36 millimetres of precipitation fell in the winter of 2024/25 (up to and including 25 February). The driest winter here was 1850/51 with 25 millimetres. The measurement series goes back to 1841.

At the Graz University weather station, 35 millimetres of precipitation fell in winter 2024/25 (up to and including 25 February). The driest winter here was 1881/82 with 22 millimetres. The series of measurements goes back to 1837.

Mild, but not as extreme as the previous year

Last year, Austria experienced the second warmest winter in recorded history. The winter of 2024/25 was not as extreme, but it was still above the temperature level of an average winter in recent decades for long stretches.

‘In the preliminary evaluation, the winter of 2024/25 in Austria's lowlands was 1.1 degrees above the average for the 1991 to 2020 climate period, while in the mountains it was 1.7 degrees milder than the average,’ says climatologist Alexander Orlik, ’which puts Austria's lowlands in 15th place in the series of the warmest winters in the 258-year measurement history and the mountains in 9th place in the 174-year mountain measurement series.’

Compared to the 1961-1990 climate period, the winter of 2024/25 was 2.3 degrees above average in the lowlands and 2.8 degrees above average in the mountains.

Very little snow, especially at low altitudes

The low levels of precipitation and the often mild weather had an impact on the snow conditions, with significant differences depending on the altitude. ‘It rarely snowed at low altitudes in Austria and any snow that fell soon melted again. It didn't snow often in the mountains either, but here it was cold enough for the snow to last a long time,’ says climatologist Alexander Orlik from GeoSphere Austria, ’for example, this winter the amount of new snow below 500 metres above sea level was 90 per cent lower and the number of days with snow cover was 85 per cent lower than in an average winter. Above 1500 metres above sea level, there was 40 per cent less fresh snow, but the number of days with snow cover was roughly equivalent to an average winter.’

Individual negative records for snow conditions

At some GeoSphere Austria weather stations, the winter of 2024/25 set new negative records for precipitation or snow. A few examples:

At the weather station at the Rudolfshütte in the Hohe Tauern in Salzburg (2317 metres above sea level), a maximum snow depth of 104 centimetres was measured this winter (29 January). This is the lowest value since the series of measurements began in 1963. The lowest maximum snow depth of a winter to date was 145 centimetres at the Rudolfshütte in the winter of 2009/2010. In comparison, the highest snow depth of a winter at the Rudolfshütte was 385 centimetres in 1998/1999.

This winter, the Vienna Hohe Warte weather station recorded the lowest amount of new snow (sum of the daily amounts of new snow) in the series of new snow measurements since 1952 with 1 centimetre. The lowest value to date was 2 centimetres in winter 2019/20.

This winter, the Reichenau an der Rax (N) weather station recorded the lowest amount of fresh snow (sum of the daily amounts of fresh snow) in the series of fresh snow measurements since 1983 at 3 centimetres. The lowest value to date was 8 centimetres in the winter of 1989/90.

This winter, the Deutschlandsberg weather station (ST) recorded the lowest amount of fresh snow (sum of the daily amounts of fresh snow) in the series of fresh snow measurements since 1984 with 7 centimetres. The previous lowest value here was 9 centimetres in the winter of 1988/89.