Monthly mean maps for precipitation and temperature (observed and anomaly) with a summary of the monthly meteorological situation


This analysis is based on observational data of precipitation and temperature. For a monthly analysis based on ERA5 reanalysis, please see the Climate bulletins produced by Copernicus Climate Change Service

Meteorological Situation for June 2020

Figure 1. Accumulated precipitation [mm] for June 2020.
Figure 1. Accumulated precipitation [mm] for June 2020.
Figure 2. Precipitation anomaly [%] for June 2020, relative to a long-term average (1990-2013). Blue (red) denotes wetter (drier) conditions than normal.
Figure 2. Precipitation anomaly [%] for June 2020, relative to a long-term average (1990-2013). Blue (red) denotes wetter (drier) conditions than normal.
Figure 3. Mean temperature [°C] for June 2020.
Figure 3. Mean temperature [°C] for June 2020.
Figure 4. Temperature anomaly [°C] for June 2020, relative to a long-term average (1990-2013). Blue (red) denotes colder (warmer) temperatures than normal.
Figure 4. Temperature anomaly [°C] for June 2020, relative to a long-term average (1990-2013). Blue (red) denotes colder (warmer) temperatures than normal.

by EFAS Meteorological Data Collection Centre

The meteorological situation in June 2020 was characterised by unusually high monthly mean surface pressure over Scandinavia and Russia and exceptionally low in the other parts of the EFAS domain. Monthly precipitation totals were around or above normal in the majority of the EFAS domain, but not in every region, for example, in the south, southeast, east and north of the EFAS domain. The monthly mean air temperatures were below the long-term means in the Mediterranean region and eastern Russia and above elsewhere in the EFAS domain.

At the beginning of June 2020, an upper-level low-pressure system was located westward of the Iberian Peninsula and a high-pressure system was located over Scandinavia while eastwards there was an upper-level trough extending towards the eastern Mediterranean region. A cut-off of the trough was initiated as the high-pressure system moved to northern Russia. The resulting low-pressure system moved via eastern Europe to southern Scandinavia and merged over the North Sea with a low-pressure system developed under an upper-level trough over central Europe. Also, from this trough, a small low-pressure system was cut-off and moved via southern France and southern Italy towards Greece. It brought heavy precipitation along its track. The low-pressure system moved from the North Sea via Scandinavia to the Arctic and the Azores high extended towards the northeast. As leftover from the low-pressure system, an upper-level low-pressure system was located over the Ligurian Sea and moved eastward. Another low-pressure system was located between Iceland, Great Britain and Ireland and moved to the Gulf of Biscay. The Azores high then extended towards Scandinavia where it connected to the high-pressure system over Russia, so in the whole EFAS domain, there was a relatively high surface air pressure with very weak gradients. Several upper-level low-pressure systems and upper-level drops of cold air were active and associated with high-impact weather events in several locations in the EFAS domain. By the beginning of the last decade of June, a low-pressure system was located southwest of Iceland, a high-pressure system over northern Scandinavia and one remaining upper-level low-pressure system over the Balkans. As the Scandinavian high-pressure system weakened and the Azores high extended towards and developed a secondary core over Central Europe, a small upper-level low-pressure system was cut-off over the Skagerrak and moved via southern Sweden, Poland, Czechia to Austria and then on a similar track back to Poland, associated with heavy precipitation events. Later, a low-pressure system moved from the Atlantic Ocean to Great Britain and Ireland and further to Scandinavia by the end of June.

In June 2020, the highest precipitation totals were observed in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains (Figure 1). On the other hand, no or nearly no precipitation fell in the south and southeast of the EFAS domain, southwest of the Iberian Peninsula and some regions around the Caspian Sea. Monthly precipitation totals above the long-term means occurred in western, central, eastern and southern Europe and northwest Africa (Figure 2), whereas monthly totals below the long-term means were reported from the southwest Iberian Peninsula, northern Scandinavia, Russia as well as eastward and southward of the Mediterranean Sea.

The monthly mean air temperatures ranged from -4.5°C to 35.4°C with the highest values in the southern parts and the lowest in the northern and mountainous parts of the EFAS domain (Figure 3). Air temperature anomalies ranged from -7.1°C to 8.5°C (Figure 4). Monthly mean air temperatures above the long-term means were found in Scandinavia and eastern Europe as well as in Iceland, Great Britain and Ireland, the Asian and African regions of the EFAS domain, while below normal air temperatures were reported from eastern Russia and, in particular, northward of the Mediterranean Sea.