Hot Central-European summer of 2013 in a long-term context

The European summer of 2013 was characterized by very high temperatures that established a new historical maximum in Austria. The extremity of this summer in Europe is assessed based on the E-OBS and ECA&D data sets. At the continental scale, it is ranked as the fifth warmest summer since 1951, with large positive temperature anomalies over Central Europe. According to seasonal heat wave characteristics, the 2013 summer was unprecedented in Kremsmuenster and Graz (both Austria) and ranked as the second or third at other stations with at least 100 years of measurements in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia. The most intense 2013 heat wave over Central Europe in early August was driven primarily by anticyclonic conditions and was probably amplified by the preceding precipitation deficit. In combination with major flooding in the Danube and Elbe river basins in early June and severe convective storms at the end of July, the hot 2013 summer in Central Europe may represent an analogue of a future summer climate that will probably be more prone to both temperature and precipitation extremes.