Mannheim is located in Germany's warmest region, the "Rhine shift". In summer, temperatures sometimes rise up to 35 �C and higher. The highest recorded temperature was 41 �C during the 2003 European heat wave. The daily lows during that time were also very high (around 25 �C). In comparison to other regions of Germany, Mannheim has a higher humidity in summer which causes a higher heat index. Snow is rare, even in the cold months. Precipitation occurs mostly during afternoon thunderstorms during the warmer period (average days of thunderstorms in a year is 40�50)
