sheep cold
That’s why there can be another drop in temperature in June
© teksomolika / Adobe Stock
The so-called sheep cold is a recurring weather phenomenon that we can expect in Central Europe every year in June. You can read what it’s all about here.
For people in Germany, June is one of the key summer months: there are strawberries on every corner, we have daylight into the night and the weather is simply wonderful. The latter often only applies to a limited extent: most years in June in Central Europe, a weather phenomenon overtakes us that leads to a short-term drop in temperature and is often accompanied by rain. We will now explain why it is known as sheep cold, when exactly we can expect it and what the meteorological background is.
Why do we speak of sheep cold?
Farmers have traditionally sheared their sheep as early as May as the summer-like temperatures rose to prepare them for the warm season. In June, however, the temperatures in Central Europe often drop again, which meant that the shaved sheep had to freeze for a few days. This observation inspired the term sheep cold for the short-term cold snap at the beginning of summer and is one reason why in certain regions most shepherds nowadays do not lose their wool until the end of the month.
When does the sheep cold begin?
June 11th is considered the heart of the sheep cold, but the cold snap is generally to be expected between June 4th and 20th. The cold period usually lasts for several days before the temperatures suddenly return to a level that is usual for early summer. A weather phenomenon such as the sheep cold, in which the conditions regularly but briefly deviate significantly from the other weather conditions of the corresponding season, is what climate researchers call meteorological singularity. In addition to the sheep cold, in Germany we know the so-called ice saints, dog days and Indian summer.
How does sheep cold come about?
The physical cold in June can be explained relatively easily: In May, the temperatures in Central Europe rose rapidly as summer approached. The air over land warms up faster than the air over water, since water is generally more temperature-stable than air or solid surfaces. That’s why we can quickly burn our feet on hot sand at lunchtime, for example, and then cool them off in the water. The temperature difference creates a pressure gradient in the air: the warmer air over land expands more than the air over the sea, its density is significantly lower in comparison – a low-pressure area is created. This draws in cold polar air from the west to north-west, where the air is denser, and as the pressure equalizes there is a noticeable drop in temperature. According to climate researchers, there is an 89 percent probability that the sheep cold will occur in one year – which means that we can generally count on it.
Which regions are particularly affected by the sheep cold?
Germany and Austria are the countries most affected by the sheep cold, although extreme weather phenomena can occur, especially at higher altitudes in the Alpine region, Tyrol or Carinthia: Sometimes there is even fresh snow in June.
Sources used: weather.com, t-online.de