Zwarte Cross: what was the weather like at past editions?
At 22 of 25 editions of Zwarte Cross from 1999 to 2025 (88%), at least one festival day had rain (≥ 1 mm); a day of 30 °C or more came at 3 of 25 editions. Source: ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus), data to 2025.
22 / 25editions with at least one rainy day
57%of festival days rainy
8 / 25editions with mud (≥ 40 mm incl. the week before)
3 / 25editions with a day ≥ 30 °C
0 °C (2009)coldest night
10 mmmedian rain per edition
Climate, not a forecast: these are statistics of past weather, not a forecast for the next edition.
Climate of the usual dates
If the next edition falls on its usual dates (18–20 July), the weather on those calendar days in 1991–2025 gives these odds:
- 66% — chance of at least one rainy day
- 40% — share of rainy days
- 24 °C — average daily maximum
- 29% — chance of a day of 30 °C or more
- 0% — chance of a night below 8 °C
Average daily maximum on these dates: 22.3 °C in 1991–2005, 25.6 °C in 2011–2025.
Weather at past editions
| Year | Dates | Rainy days | Rain | Max | Night min | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 18–20 July | 2 / 3 | 20 mm | 30 °C | 13 °C | last 3 days of 17–20 July |
| 2024 | 19–21 July | 1 / 3 | 13 mm | 31 °C | 16 °C | last 3 days of 18–21 July |
| 2023 | 21–23 July | 3 / 3 | 8 mm | 21 °C | 12 °C | last 3 days of 20–23 July |
| 2022 | 15–17 July | 0 / 3 | 1 mm | 25 °C | 8 °C | last 3 days of 14–17 July |
| 2019 | 19–21 July | 1 / 3 | 10 mm | 24 °C | 15 °C | last 3 days of 18–21 July |
| 2018 | 13–15 July | 0 / 3 | 0 mm | 28 °C | 12 °C | — |
| 2017 | 14–16 July | 2 / 3 | 7 mm | 22 °C | 11 °C | — |
| 2016 | 22–24 July | 2 / 3 | 11 mm | 26 °C | 17 °C | — |
| 2015 | 24–26 July | 3 / 3 | 24 mm | 25 °C | 9 °C | — |
| 2014 | 25–27 July | 2 / 3 | 14 mm | 25 °C | 16 °C | — |
| 2013 | 26–28 July | 2 / 3 | 10 mm | 26 °C | 17 °C | — |
| 2012 | 20–22 July | 0 / 3 | 0 mm | 21 °C | 7 °C | — |
| 2011 | 15–17 July | 3 / 3 | 21 mm | 23 °C | 13 °C | — |
| 2010 | 16–18 July | 2 / 3 | 9 mm | 28 °C | 10 °C | — |
| 2009 | 24–26 January | 1 / 3 | 1 mm | 6 °C | 0 °C | — |
| 2008 | 25–27 July | 2 / 3 | 13 mm | 28 °C | 16 °C | — |
| 2007 | 27–29 July | 3 / 3 | 26 mm | 21 °C | 12 °C | — |
| 2006 | 21–23 July | 2 / 3 | 8 mm | 32 °C | 19 °C | — |
| 2005 | 15–17 July | 1 / 3 | 4 mm | 26 °C | 9 °C | other venue: Halle |
| 2004 | 16–18 July | 3 / 3 | 16 mm | 28 °C | 14 °C | other venue: Halle |
| 2003 | 18–20 July | 1 / 3 | 2 mm | 33 °C | 15 °C | other venue: Halle |
| 2002 | 19–21 July | 2 / 3 | 18 mm | 22 °C | 10 °C | other venue: Halle |
| 2001 | 13–15 July | 1 / 3 | 7 mm | 19 °C | 12 °C | other venue: Halle |
| 2000 | 8–9 July | 1 / 2 | 6 mm | 15 °C | 9 °C | other venue: Halle |
| 1999 | 12–13 July | 2 / 2 | 17 mm | 28 °C | 17 °C | other venue: Halle |
How to read these numbers
- ERA5 is a reanalysis on a 0.25° grid (about 25 km): it counts slightly more light-rain days than nearby weather stations (by about 5–7 percentage points) and gives daytime highs about 1–2.5 °C below station readings, so real hot days were hotter than shown here.
- Edition window: the official programme days (main festival days, without camping or warm-up days before the start).
- For 5 editions the source lists a longer span (camping or warm-up days, a second weekend); we used the last 3 days, the festival's usual length.
- “Mud” means at least 40 mm of rain over the festival days and the week before.
- 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005: held at Halle; the weather for those editions was taken at that site.
- Dates of past editions: Wikidata and Wikipedia (en, fr, it, nl); cancelled editions (e.g. 2020–21) are not counted.
Dates and sources
Coordinates: 52.002, 6.600; ERA5 cell centred at 52.00, 6.50 (average ground height of the cell 26 m).