Has it rained enough in Geneva?
The last rain heavy enough to soak in fell over a week ago. What has fallen since wet the leaves and no more.
Geneva has had 21.3mm of rain in the last 30 days. A normal September here brings 99.6mm — and the driest September in the last 30 years still managed 37.6mm. This is drier than anything on that record.
Rain in Geneva through a normal year
Across a normal year Geneva gets about 1355.7mm of rain, most of it in May (137.9mm) and least in February (95.8mm).
A normal September in Geneva has rain on 14 days. Only 10 of them bring enough to reach a root.
That makes Geneva one of the wetter places this site covers in Europe in September — 9th of 116, against Salzburg at the wet end (166.3mm) and Athens at the dry end (19.4mm).
What that means for what you grow
- Pots and hanging basketsWorst hit, and first to suffer. Very little soil, fully exposed, and nothing to fall back on — in this weather they can empty in a day.
- Salad and leafy vegShallow-rooted and quick to bolt once they run dry. First priority of anything in the ground.
- Beds and bordersA long soak that reaches the roots is worth more than a daily sprinkle, which only wets the surface and is gone by lunchtime.
- Established shrubs and treesFine as they are. They draw from far deeper than a dry spell reaches.