Overall, the meteorological situation for 2019 proved to be too warm and too dry in the north of the Grand Duchy, leading to a difficult year for agriculture and viticulture.
The weather data come from the measurement network of 32 automatic weather stations from across Luxembourg. This year the values of the four representative stations Asselborn (north), Clemency (south-west), Remich (Moselle valley) and Grevenmacher (Moselle valley) were compared with the average values for the reference period 1981-2010.
The mean temperatures at these four stations were above the values of the reference period, with the smallest deviation in Asselborn and Remich (+ 0.8°C) and the highest deviation in Clemency with + 1.0°C. In Luxembourg City, where temperatures have been measured since 1838, 2019 was the 26th warmest year with a deviation of + 0.2°C. Monthly averages under the reference period were recorded only in January, May and November. May in particular was relatively cool across the country, with an anomaly of up to -2.3°C in Asselborn. After the high temperatures in the previous months, this cold spell led to severe frost damage and loss of yield, especially in wine growing and also in fruit growing. The highest positive monthly deviation was measured in Asselborn in February at + 3.5°C. But June was also much warmer than the reference period with an anomaly of + 2.7°C in Asselborn.
The rainfall in 2019 divided the country in two. While here was a rainfall deficit in the north, in the south of the country there was an excess of rainfall compared to the long-term average. The largest deficit was recorded in Arsdorf with −136 mm, while in Koerich there was a surplus of +62 mm. In Asselborn, the precipitation amounts were below the values of the reference periods during all months except June and October. January, in particular, was dry with a deficit of −44 mm, and the precipitation amounts could not make up for this deficit for the rest of the year. In Remich, on the other hand, there was an above-average amount of rain from March to May, as well as in October and November, which meant that the annual precipitation sums were close to the long-term averages and the annual sum registered a surplus of +60 mm. Agriculture, wine and fruit growing suffered from late frosts, temperature records and drought. In 2019, wine and fruit growing suffered heavily regionally from the late frost of early May in 2019, which led to considerable yield losses, depending on the situation. In viticulture and fruit growing, strong sunshine also caused sunburn.
All recorded data from the 32 ASTA weather stations can be accessed on www.agrimeteo.lu.