Temperature forecast — how to read it

The temperature map shows the forecast 2-meter air temperature in °C from the DWD ICON-D2 model. It's a simple layer, but three separate VFR decisions depend on it.

How to read the color scale

Cool colors (blue / violet) are cold; warm colors (yellow / orange / red) are hot. Zero-degree contour is a visually distinct step — cross-check it if your route sits close to the freezing level.

Decision 1 — density altitude and performance

High summer temperatures at high-elevation airfields collapse piston-engine performance. A rough rule: expect a 10% loss of takeoff performance per 10 °C above ISA at your field elevation. When the map is deep orange over an Alpine strip you were planning to visit, add a performance check to your pre-flight.

Decision 2 — icing risk

A sub-zero temperature at the surface, combined with any precipitation on significant weather, means airframe icing is on the table. For structural icing you also care about the temperature column aloft, not just 2 m — for that, use a cross-section, which draws the freezing level.

Decision 3 — morning stratus burn-off

On calm autumn mornings with radiation fog, the burn-off time is driven by how fast the surface warms. Watch the temperature map's trend through the morning hours: rapid warming (5 °C in three hours) usually means the fog / stratus will lift; a stalled temperature curve says it will persist.

Model caveats

2 m temperature over complex terrain has real error bars — cold-air pooling in valleys is under-resolved even at 2.1 km. Use the map for regional patterns; use the meteogram's temperature curve for a single-airfield decision.