German weather may spring surprises

BERLIN, May 25 (Reuters) The weather in Germany could be as full of surprises as the soccer during the World Cup, with cold fronts, heatwaves, heavy rain, bright blue skies or severe thunderstorms among the myriad of possibilities.

Weather forecasters are loath to predict more than seven days ahead even though computers have improved the reliability of medium-range outlooks to 95 percent since the last World Cup held here in 1974.

Past June-July weather data is also a poor guide because the northern European country with both continental and maritime influences can have damp and chilly weather or hot and dry spells.

Some years have maddening bouts of both in quick succession.

''You can't predict what will happen in June because there will always be surprises,'' said Gerhard Lux, a meteorologist at the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), the national weather service.

''Everything is possible,'' he told Reuters. ''It depends on many factors, especially on whether the prevailing winds are from the west, which are often wet and cool.

''Or they could be from the north, which are often cold, or southwesterly winds, which are moist and warm, or from the south, which are hot, or southeast, which are dry,'' Lux said.

Because heavy rain played a role in 1974, especially when the West Germany hosts beat Poland 1-0 in the ''Wasserschlacht von Frankfurt'' (''Water battle of Frankfurt''), the heavens will be on the minds of players, coaches, fans and bookmakers.

HAIL STORM The historical data show a wide range. The June average is 15.4 degrees Celsius but a June average low record of 11.2 was set in 1923 and an average high of 19.4 in 2003. An all-time June low of 2.4 degrees below zero was recorded in Obertsdorf in 1962 and a high of 38.2 degrees was set in 1947 in Frankfurt.

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