Published: July 6,2015
Germany's all-time heat record was toppled Sunday in Kitzingen, topping out at 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Weather Underground's Dr. Jeff Masters. This eclipsed the previous German all-time high of 40.2C (104.4F) from August 2003 and July 1983.
Masters says many German cities set their all-time heat records this past weekend, including Berlin (Dahlem) reaching 37.9C (100.2F) Saturday and Frankfurt soaring to 39C (102.2F) Sunday.
Several monthly and all-time records were either tied or broken during the first weekend in July in France, according to Météo-France.
Six-year-old
Harvey enjoys playing with water as the Wimbledon Tennis Championships
are seen on a huge screen in London, Wednesday, July 1, 2015.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Even parts of southern Sweden pushed the 32 degrees Celsius (89.6F) mark Sunday.
Last Wednesday afternoon, the temperature at London's Heathrow Airport skyrocketed to 36.7 degrees Celsius -- 98.1 degrees Fahrenheit -- a July heat record not only there but for anywhere in the U.K., according to the U.K. Met Office.
The previous U.K. July heat record was set almost nine years ago -- 36.5 degrees C in Wisley on July 19, 2006. It was also the hottest day in Wimbledon history, topping the previous record of 34.6 degrees C on June 26, 1976.
Paris, France saw its temperature soar to 39.7 degrees Celsius -- 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit -- last Wednesday, the second hottest reading there dating to 1873, according to Météo-France.
Météo-France says three French locations chalked up all-time record highs last Wednesday, topping their highest temperatures from either the 2003 or 2006 heat waves:
- Boulogne-sur-Mer (35.4 degrees Celsius or 95.7 degrees Fahrenheit) beat their previous record from Aug. 11, 2003 (34.8C).
- Dieppe (38.3C or 100.9F) beat their previous record from July 19, 2006 (37C).
- Melun (39.4C or 102.9F) beat their previous record from Aug. 12, 2003 (38.9C).
It wasn't just the high temperatures, lows generally did not drop below 68 degrees (20C) on Saturday morning and for many cities in France they had never recorded such hot nights in July. Lons-le-Saunier in eastern France saw a low of 80 degrees (28C).
On Thursday, Maastricht, in the far southeast of The Netherlands, rose to 38.2 degrees Celsius (100.8F), a new national July heat record, topping Westdorpe's 37.1C reading in 2006.
Earlier last week, heat records were toppled in parts of Spain.
Madrid (central Madrid) set a new June record high for the second day in a row Monday, reaching 39.7 degrees Celsius -- 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit -- edging out their previous June record of 39.1 degrees Celsius set last Sunday.
Monday afternoon, Madrid's Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport pushed up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 F), a first for June in records dating to 1945. According to AEMet, four other locations in Spain with records dating to at least the 1950s tied or set new June heat records Monday.
Cordoba, in southern Spain, reached a sizzling 43.7 degrees Celsius last Sunday (110.7F) and topped that this Monday, July 6 with a high of 45 degrees Celsius (113F).
(FLASHBACK: Europe May Heat Records)
Europe Pattern This Week
Current Temperatures
Five Day Forecast
The culprit for this heat wave was an area of high-pressure aloft nosing northeastward from the Iberian peninsula into parts of northern Europe.
Under this dome of high pressure aloft, dry, sinking air and generally light winds allowed stifling heat to build.
This heat has now spread across a large part of the continent, but it's days are numbered before an eagerly-awaited cold front sweeps in from the Atlantic Ocean.
For the U.K., the truly record-shattering heat appeared to only last a day or so last week, however their friends across the English Channel haven't been so fortunate, as we've detailed above.
(MORE: U.K. Detailed Weather Forecast)
Code orange heat alerts ("vigilance orange") have been issued by Meteo France for parts of central and eastern France. Code orange is the second-highest level on the four-color hazard scale adopted by national meteorological services in most European countries.
"Europeans, and the French in particular, have been painfully aware of the dangers of extreme heat since the killer heat wave of July 2003," said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. According to the United Nations, an estimated 30,000 Europeans (14,000 in France alone) died in that heat wave, making it the deadliest natural disaster of the past 50 years in Europe.
(MORE: Extreme Heat Waves, Cold Snaps More Frequent)
A cold front should bring some heat relief by Wednesday to most of heat-weary France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria and the Czech Republic.
Highs in Paris will top out around 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) Tuesday, but then cool off considerably Wednesday and Thursday. The average high in Paris during July is about 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees F).
That relief should arrive in eastern Europe, including Poland, Thursday.
(FORECASTS: Amsterdam | Brussels | Berlin | Prague | Zurich | Vienna | Budapest | Krakow)
Not everybody will see heat relief, though.
Madrid, Spain will see temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees) much of the week. In fact, the central Madrid reporting station could threaten its all-time record high of 40.6 degrees Celsius recorded on Aug. 10, 2012.
Also, the heat relief will be short-lived.
Late this week into next weekend, the heat will build back once again from Spain into some of the same heat-fatigued parts of Europe into the following week.
However, this heat is expected to be in muted form from what we've seen over the past week from Spain and eastern France to southern Poland and southward to Hungary, Croatia and Serbia.
"The latest (long-range forecasts) suggest the ridge and heat will persist across central Europe and Iberia through the month (of July)," said Leon Brown, chief meteorologist based in the U.K. for The Weather Company.
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