Clouds Are In

After two weeks of yellow alerts, record temperatures, cancelled triathlons, dried-up rivers, and forest fires in the Mullerthal, the forecast for Wednesday reads like a peace treaty. Dry and cloudy. A slight breeze. Temperatures starting around 11-13°C, reaching 23°C in the afternoon.[1]

The clouds will be especially noticeable in the afternoon, which is a polite way of saying the sky will be grey when it used to be white-hot. Temperatures will rise a bit as the week goes on, but Meteolux is not predicting a return to heatwave territory. Not yet, anyway.[1]

The heatwave that dominated July, day after day of yellow alerts stretching into a second week, has broken. The Moselle is still low, the corn is still damaged, and the fire risk is still elevated, but the air has cooled. The breaking point came with thunderstorms on July 14, and since then the country has been slowly exhaling.[1]

23°C. After 36.3°C at Findel on June 26, after 35°C in classrooms, after 30°C in hospital wards, 23°C feels almost too gentle. Almost suspicious. But the clouds are in, and for one day at least, that is enough.