The endless heat..
According to the chronicle of winemaker Hans Stoltz of Guebwiller (Gebweiler) today in France, it was largely dry from 10 February until mid-June, following a moderately cold winter. There was some rain at the beginning of March. April and May were sunny and very warm almost all the time, and from the end of June to 4 August it was scorching hot with no rain at all.
August and September saw several rainy days, but only a little rain fell. From October to the end of December, the weather was comparable to April with no frost nor snow.
In England no rainfall was registered from June to early October.
The endless heat
Cherry trees were in full bloom around 10 April. One month later, the cherries were ripe. The vine blossom ended before 10 June.
The first ripe grapes were picked in Zurich a month later, corresponding to a vegetation lead of 4–5 weeks. By the beginning of August, the grapes were ripe in many vineyards, but the berries had dried up. Therefore, many vine growers decided to wait until September, when there would be more abundant rainfall, before harvesting.
Extremely high temperatures were experienced in April, May. In July, maximum temperatures of over 40 °C were probably reached.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_year-round_heat_and_drought_of_1540_in_Europe
|