Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020

Name: Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020
Start: 2020-03-21
End: 2020-04-05
Location: Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, France, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Algeria, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Tunisia, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Montenegro, Sweden, Belarus, Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Morocco

Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020: 671 records at 349 stations, peak on 1 April 2020. Closed.

Data as of 2026-10-17. Last revised 17 October 2026 (2026-10-17).

Key Facts

Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020 set or tied 671 station records at 349 stations.
It ran from 21 March 2020 to 5 April 2020 (16 days) and its peak day was 1 April 2020.
Status: closed.
Szombathely set a monthly record low minimum temperature of -6.3 C (20.7 F) on 2 April 2020.
The busiest day was 1 April 2020 with 168 records.
The oldest broken record in the ranked list had stood for 136 years.

Footprint

21 March to 5 April 2020

The area covered by Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020 is outlined, with 19 of the stations that set records marked, coloured by record type. Made with Natural Earth.

Footprint of Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020: stations that set records in the event
Station	Type	Value	Date
Szombathely	Record low minimum temperature	-6.3 C (20.7 F)	2020-04-02
Drobeta Turnu Severin	Record low maximum temperature	4.2 C (39.6 F)	2020-04-01
Lichtentanne	Record low minimum temperature	-8.7 C (16.3 F)	2020-03-30
Regensburg	Record low minimum temperature	-5.9 C (21.4 F)	2020-04-01
Bjelasnica	Record low minimum temperature	-15.6 C (3.9 F)	2020-03-24
Graz	Record low minimum temperature	-4.1 C (24.6 F)	2020-04-01
Nurnberg	Record low minimum temperature	-6.8 C (19.8 F)	2020-04-01
Debrecen Airport	Record low minimum temperature	-6.8 C (19.8 F)	2020-04-02
Albacete Los Llanos	Record low maximum temperature	5.3 C (41.5 F)	2020-03-27
Magdeburg	Record low minimum temperature	-5.5 C (22.1 F)	2020-03-30
Weissenburg	Record low minimum temperature	-6.6 C (20.1 F)	2020-03-31
Plauen	Record low minimum temperature	-8.2 C (17.2 F)	2020-04-01
Ternopil	Record low minimum temperature	-7.0 C (19.4 F)	2020-04-01
Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Record low minimum temperature	-8.4 C (16.9 F)	2020-04-01
Gospic	Record low maximum temperature	-1.0 C (30.2 F)	2020-03-24
Pecs Pogany	Record low maximum temperature	0.5 C (32.9 F)	2020-03-24
Straubing	Record low minimum temperature	-7.7 C (18.1 F)	2020-03-31
Mallersdorf/Niederbayern	Record low minimum temperature	-6.3 C (20.7 F)	2020-04-01
Hurbanovo	Record low minimum temperature	-5.9 C (21.4 F)	2020-04-01

Records per Day

Peak day 168

Records set or tied each day from 21 March 2020 to 5 April 2020. The most in one day was 168 on 1 April 2020.

Records per day during Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020
Date	Records
2020-03-21	1
2020-03-22	5
2020-03-23	23
2020-03-24	48
2020-03-25	61
2020-03-26	33
2020-03-27	13
2020-03-28	2
2020-03-29	7
2020-03-30	56
2020-03-31	83
2020-04-01	168
2020-04-02	106
2020-04-03	44
2020-04-04	18
2020-04-05	3

Top Records by Margin

Margin over the record replaced

Top records of Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020 ranked by margin
Straubing, 03-31	4.5 C (8.1 F)
Drobeta Turnu Severin, 04-01	1.8 C (3.2 F)
Albacete Los Llanos, 03-27	1.6 C (2.9 F)
Weissenburg, 03-31	1.5 C (2.7 F)
Plauen, 04-01	1.2 C (2.2 F)
Bjelasnica, 03-24	1.0 C (1.8 F)
Debrecen Airport, 04-02	1.0 C (1.8 F)
Heinersreuth-Vollhof, 04-01	1.0 C (1.8 F)
Regensburg, 04-01	0.9 C (1.6 F)
Lichtentanne, 03-30	0.9 C (1.6 F)
Ternopil, 04-01	0.9 C (1.6 F)
Weissenburg, 04-01	0.8 C (1.4 F)
Szombathely, 04-02	0.7 C (1.3 F)
Nurnberg, 04-01	0.7 C (1.3 F)
Mallersdorf/Niederbayern, 04-01	0.6 C (1.1 F)

Margin is how far the new value is beyond the record it replaced. Ties are not shown.

Margin Against Age of the Broken Record

500 records plotted by how far they beat the old record (across) and how many years the old record had stood (up). Long standing records beaten by a wide margin sit in the top right.

Margin against age of the broken record in Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020
Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.7	85
1.8	116
0.9	114
0.9	136
0.5	114
1.0	119
0.7	114
1.0	97
0.2	98
1.2	89
1.5	89
1.6	87
0.9	67
1.0	89
0.8	89
4.5	65
0.6	63
0.2	88
0.3	88
0.2	65
0.5	88
0.5	80
0.9	49
0.9	71
3.4	65
2.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	62
2.9	65
2.5	65
2.3	62
1.9	69
3.1	64
1.0	46
0.2	50
1.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	65
2.2	68
3.4	43
2.0	62
0.2	43
1.5	65
2.1	62
1.1	68
1.5	65
0.8	69
1.8	55
1.2	64
2.8	55
2.5	54
1.3	65
2.0	62
0.4	62
1.4	65
1.4	65
1.5	65
1.6	65
0.5	41
2.6	62
1.7	65
0.2	62
0.2	70
1.3	62
0.6	68
0.4	68
1.5	62
0.5	65
1.0	58
1.7	57
0.4	62
0.3	65
1.0	62
0.3	68
0.9	62
0.4	65
0.9	62
0.1	68
0.4	69
0.5	65
1.4	65
1.1	62
1.5	55
0.2	68
0.6	65
2.2	50
2.0	45
2.0	45
1.6	57
1.0	62
3.2	45
1.8	56
2.0	51
3.4	38
0.6	65
2.1	57
3.9	33
0.8	62
0.4	62
0.5	29
0.9	58
0.2	65
0.8	62
0.2	65
0.1	65
0.2	65
0.1	62
1.7	57
1.9	53
0.5	65
0.8	57
0.6	62
1.5	55
3.9	43
2.1	38
3.4	38
3.0	39
0.6	62
0.5	60
0.4	53
0.4	57
1.6	41
2.7	43
1.2	17
0.3	62
2.3	43
0.1	58
0.2	62
0.6	58
0.8	57
0.2	62
0.4	62
1.9	45
0.3	66
0.1	60
0.4	33
1.1	53
0.8	54
1.1	51
3.1	51
2.8	43
1.7	55
2.7	44
1.3	22
3.8	38
0.3	61
1.5	43
0.5	50
1.5	43
0.3	62
0.1	62
1.5	43
0.2	62
0.2	62
0.1	62
1.6	45
1.0	47
0.2	57
0.2	57
0.9	51
1.2	54
1.2	48
0.9	53
0.1	57
0.8	45
0.4	51
0.6	47
1.3	43
0.2	51
1.1	50
0.5	16
2.5	43
2.3	45
0.5	28
1.9	43
0.9	45
3.7	22
0.6	16
1.5	41
1.2	55
1.4	51
0.7	56
0.7	22
2.0	41
0.6	55
1.4	53
0.9	53
0.5	41
0.7	51
3.1	33
2.8	33
0.5	53
0.5	51
2.1	43
1.6	43
1.1	44
0.9	50
0.6	53
0.4	51
2.1	43

Compared With Other Events

Station records per event

Station records in Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020 compared with similar events
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 6 February to 5 March 2021	12,118 records
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 13 October to 5 November 2020	9,841 records
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 23 December 2017 to 8 January 2018	8,263 records
Cold outbreak in United States and Mexico, 3 to 23 January 2024	7,675 records
Cold outbreak in United States, 15 January to 10 February 2026	5,568 records
Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020 (this event)	671 records

Every Record Set

20 of 671

Every record set or tied during Cold outbreak in Germany and 26 other countries, 21 March to 5 April 2020, in date order
Date	Station	Record	Value	Margin	Years stood	Significance
2020-03-24	Bjelasnica	Record low minimum temperature	-15.6 C (3.9 F)	1.0 C (1.8 F)	119	41 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-24	Gospic	Record low maximum temperature	-1.0 C (30.2 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	88	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-24	Pecs Pogany	Record low maximum temperature	0.5 C (32.9 F)	0.3 C (0.5 F)	88	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-27	Albacete Los Llanos	Record low maximum temperature	5.3 C (41.5 F)	1.6 C (2.9 F)	87	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-30	Lichtentanne	Record low minimum temperature	-8.7 C (16.3 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	136	42 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-30	Magdeburg	Record low minimum temperature	-5.5 C (22.1 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	98	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-31	Weissenburg	Record low minimum temperature	-6.6 C (20.1 F)	1.5 C (2.7 F)	89	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-03-31	Straubing	Record low minimum temperature	-7.7 C (18.1 F)	4.5 C (8.1 F)	65	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Drobeta Turnu Severin	Record low maximum temperature	4.2 C (39.6 F)	1.8 C (3.2 F)	116	43 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Regensburg	Record low minimum temperature	-5.9 C (21.4 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	114	42 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Graz	Record low minimum temperature	-4.1 C (24.6 F)	0.5 C (0.9 F)	114	41 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Nurnberg	Record low minimum temperature	-6.8 C (19.8 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	114	41 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Plauen	Record low minimum temperature	-8.2 C (17.2 F)	1.2 C (2.2 F)	89	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Ternopil	Record low minimum temperature	-7.0 C (19.4 F)	0.9 C (1.6 F)	67	39 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Heinersreuth-Vollhof	Record low minimum temperature	-8.4 C (16.9 F)	1.0 C (1.8 F)	89	38 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Weissenburg	Record low minimum temperature	-6.8 C (19.8 F)	0.8 C (1.4 F)	89	38 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Mallersdorf/Niederbayern	Record low minimum temperature	-6.3 C (20.7 F)	0.6 C (1.1 F)	63	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-01	Hurbanovo	Record low minimum temperature	-5.9 C (21.4 F)	0.2 C (0.4 F)	65	36 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-02	Szombathely	Record low minimum temperature	-6.3 C (20.7 F)	0.7 C (1.3 F)	85	47 of 100 (Notable)
2020-04-02	Debrecen Airport	Record low minimum temperature	-6.8 C (19.8 F)	1.0 C (1.8 F)	97	41 of 100 (Notable)

The daily ledgers keep a limited number of records per day, so this list has 20 of the 671 records the event counts. The counts above use the full total.

Related Headlines

Third party news, headline and link only

Download the Data

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17. Events are found by this site from station records and are not official designations. Records are provisional until reprocessed.

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.7	85
1.8	116
0.9	114
0.9	136
0.5	114
1.0	119
0.7	114
1.0	97
0.2	98
1.2	89
1.5	89
1.6	87
0.9	67
1.0	89
0.8	89
4.5	65
0.6	63
0.2	88
0.3	88
0.2	65
0.5	88
0.5	80
0.9	49
0.9	71
3.4	65
2.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	62
2.9	65
2.5	65
2.3	62
1.9	69
3.1	64
1.0	46
0.2	50
1.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	65
2.2	68
3.4	43
2.0	62
0.2	43
1.5	65
2.1	62
1.1	68
1.5	65
0.8	69
1.8	55
1.2	64
2.8	55
2.5	54
1.3	65
2.0	62
0.4	62
1.4	65
1.4	65
1.5	65
1.6	65
0.5	41
2.6	62
1.7	65
0.2	62
0.2	70
1.3	62
0.6	68
0.4	68
1.5	62
0.5	65
1.0	58
1.7	57
0.4	62
0.3	65
1.0	62
0.3	68
0.9	62
0.4	65
0.9	62
0.1	68
0.4	69
0.5	65
1.4	65
1.1	62
1.5	55
0.2	68
0.6	65
2.2	50
2.0	45
2.0	45
1.6	57
1.0	62
3.2	45
1.8	56
2.0	51
3.4	38
0.6	65
2.1	57
3.9	33
0.8	62
0.4	62
0.5	29
0.9	58
0.2	65
0.8	62
0.2	65
0.1	65
0.2	65
0.1	62
1.7	57
1.9	53
0.5	65
0.8	57
0.6	62
1.5	55
3.9	43
2.1	38
3.4	38
3.0	39
0.6	62
0.5	60
0.4	53
0.4	57
1.6	41
2.7	43
1.2	17
0.3	62
2.3	43
0.1	58
0.2	62
0.6	58
0.8	57
0.2	62
0.4	62
1.9	45
0.3	66
0.1	60
0.4	33
1.1	53
0.8	54
1.1	51
3.1	51
2.8	43
1.7	55
2.7	44
1.3	22
3.8	38
0.3	61
1.5	43
0.5	50
1.5	43
0.3	62
0.1	62
1.5	43
0.2	62
0.2	62
0.1	62
1.6	45
1.0	47
0.2	57
0.2	57
0.9	51
1.2	54
1.2	48
0.9	53
0.1	57
0.8	45
0.4	51
0.6	47
1.3	43
0.2	51
1.1	50
0.5	16
2.5	43
2.3	45
0.5	28
1.9	43
0.9	45
3.7	22
0.6	16
1.5	41
1.2	55
1.4	51
0.7	56
0.7	22
2.0	41
0.6	55
1.4	53
0.9	53
0.5	41
0.7	51
3.1	33
2.8	33
0.5	53
0.5	51
2.1	43
1.6	43
1.1	44
0.9	50
0.6	53
0.4	51
2.1	43

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.7	85
1.8	116
0.9	114
0.9	136
0.5	114
1.0	119
0.7	114
1.0	97
0.2	98
1.2	89
1.5	89
1.6	87
0.9	67
1.0	89
0.8	89
4.5	65
0.6	63
0.2	88
0.3	88
0.2	65
0.5	88
0.5	80
0.9	49
0.9	71
3.4	65
2.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	62
2.9	65
2.5	65
2.3	62
1.9	69
3.1	64
1.0	46
0.2	50
1.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	65
2.2	68
3.4	43
2.0	62
0.2	43
1.5	65
2.1	62
1.1	68
1.5	65
0.8	69
1.8	55
1.2	64
2.8	55
2.5	54
1.3	65
2.0	62
0.4	62
1.4	65
1.4	65
1.5	65
1.6	65
0.5	41
2.6	62
1.7	65
0.2	62
0.2	70
1.3	62
0.6	68
0.4	68
1.5	62
0.5	65
1.0	58
1.7	57
0.4	62
0.3	65
1.0	62
0.3	68
0.9	62
0.4	65
0.9	62
0.1	68
0.4	69
0.5	65
1.4	65
1.1	62
1.5	55
0.2	68
0.6	65
2.2	50
2.0	45
2.0	45
1.6	57
1.0	62
3.2	45
1.8	56
2.0	51
3.4	38
0.6	65
2.1	57
3.9	33
0.8	62
0.4	62
0.5	29
0.9	58
0.2	65
0.8	62
0.2	65
0.1	65
0.2	65
0.1	62
1.7	57
1.9	53
0.5	65
0.8	57
0.6	62
1.5	55
3.9	43
2.1	38
3.4	38
3.0	39
0.6	62
0.5	60
0.4	53
0.4	57
1.6	41
2.7	43
1.2	17
0.3	62
2.3	43
0.1	58
0.2	62
0.6	58
0.8	57
0.2	62
0.4	62
1.9	45
0.3	66
0.1	60
0.4	33
1.1	53
0.8	54
1.1	51
3.1	51
2.8	43
1.7	55
2.7	44
1.3	22
3.8	38
0.3	61
1.5	43
0.5	50
1.5	43
0.3	62
0.1	62
1.5	43
0.2	62
0.2	62
0.1	62
1.6	45
1.0	47
0.2	57
0.2	57
0.9	51
1.2	54
1.2	48
0.9	53
0.1	57
0.8	45
0.4	51
0.6	47
1.3	43
0.2	51
1.1	50
0.5	16
2.5	43
2.3	45
0.5	28
1.9	43
0.9	45
3.7	22
0.6	16
1.5	41
1.2	55
1.4	51
0.7	56
0.7	22
2.0	41
0.6	55
1.4	53
0.9	53
0.5	41
0.7	51
3.1	33
2.8	33
0.5	53
0.5	51
2.1	43
1.6	43
1.1	44
0.9	50
0.6	53
0.4	51
2.1	43

Margin (C)	Years the old record stood
0.7	85
1.8	116
0.9	114
0.9	136
0.5	114
1.0	119
0.7	114
1.0	97
0.2	98
1.2	89
1.5	89
1.6	87
0.9	67
1.0	89
0.8	89
4.5	65
0.6	63
0.2	88
0.3	88
0.2	65
0.5	88
0.5	80
0.9	49
0.9	71
3.4	65
2.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	62
2.9	65
2.5	65
2.3	62
1.9	69
3.1	64
1.0	46
0.2	50
1.3	68
2.5	65
2.6	65
2.2	68
3.4	43
2.0	62
0.2	43
1.5	65
2.1	62
1.1	68
1.5	65
0.8	69
1.8	55
1.2	64
2.8	55
2.5	54
1.3	65
2.0	62
0.4	62
1.4	65
1.4	65
1.5	65
1.6	65
0.5	41
2.6	62
1.7	65
0.2	62
0.2	70
1.3	62
0.6	68
0.4	68
1.5	62
0.5	65
1.0	58
1.7	57
0.4	62
0.3	65
1.0	62
0.3	68
0.9	62
0.4	65
0.9	62
0.1	68
0.4	69
0.5	65
1.4	65
1.1	62
1.5	55
0.2	68
0.6	65
2.2	50
2.0	45
2.0	45
1.6	57
1.0	62
3.2	45
1.8	56
2.0	51
3.4	38
0.6	65
2.1	57
3.9	33
0.8	62
0.4	62
0.5	29
0.9	58
0.2	65
0.8	62
0.2	65
0.1	65
0.2	65
0.1	62
1.7	57
1.9	53
0.5	65
0.8	57
0.6	62
1.5	55
3.9	43
2.1	38
3.4	38
3.0	39
0.6	62
0.5	60
0.4	53
0.4	57
1.6	41
2.7	43
1.2	17
0.3	62
2.3	43
0.1	58
0.2	62
0.6	58
0.8	57
0.2	62
0.4	62
1.9	45
0.3	66
0.1	60
0.4	33
1.1	53
0.8	54
1.1	51
3.1	51
2.8	43
1.7	55
2.7	44
1.3	22
3.8	38
0.3	61
1.5	43
0.5	50
1.5	43
0.3	62
0.1	62
1.5	43
0.2	62
0.2	62
0.1	62
1.6	45
1.0	47
0.2	57
0.2	57
0.9	51
1.2	54
1.2	48
0.9	53
0.1	57
0.8	45
0.4	51
0.6	47
1.3	43
0.2	51
1.1	50
0.5	16
2.5	43
2.3	45
0.5	28
1.9	43
0.9	45
3.7	22
0.6	16
1.5	41
1.2	55
1.4	51
0.7	56
0.7	22
2.0	41
0.6	55
1.4	53
0.9	53
0.5	41
0.7	51
3.1	33
2.8	33
0.5	53
0.5	51
2.1	43
1.6	43
1.1	44
0.9	50
0.6	53
0.4	51
2.1	43