The climate in the Netherlands

Mild but changeable weather of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a low-lying country in northwestern Europe with a temperate and maritime climate. It is influenced mainly by the North Sea and the prevailing westerly winds from continental Europe.

Summer lasts from June to August and is pleasantly warm with temperatures between 20°C and 24°C. However, isolated heat waves with temperatures sometimes exceeding 30°C can drive the temperatures up. Even then, however, high temperatures are considerably more pleasant than in the interior of Europe. Permanent North Sea winds always provide a light breeze and prevent the air from becoming too humid and oppressive.

In winter - mainly in months from December to February - it is much cooler with temperatures between 2 and 7°C. Temperatures below freezing point usually only occur at night. Depending on this, snowfalls are also rather rare and not guaranteed in every winter. Snow remains only for a short time before it thaws again. However, Dutch winters are often accompanied by strong sea winds, so that the perceived temperature seems considerably colder.

Autumn and winter are also the time of storms here. In Zeeland, on the North and South Dutch coasts, the storms are often the strongest, as these regions offer the largest area of attack to the open sea. Low pressure areas over the North Sea and strong air currents from the English Channel bring cold air masses into the country here. In the inland, however, wind forces above 9 bft are rare.

The transitional seasons of spring and autumn in the Netherlands are rather mild with temperatures between 7°C and 15°C. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. Only in spring, around April, the number of rainy days and the amount of rainfall are lower.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Maastricht weather station. In July 2019, the record temperature of 39.6 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 5 weather stations in the Netherlands , was recorded in 2006 with an average temperature of 19.0 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 17.0 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 23.3 °C.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Groningen weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -19.5 °C in February 2012. Groningen lies at an altitude of four meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1963 with an average temperature of -1.3 °C. In the Netherlands, it is usual to have about 5.8 degrees more at 4.6 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in September 2001. With 7.3 mm per day, the Groningen weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1951 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 1 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1951 to 2022, there were only these 1 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (De Bilt). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 2006 at 22.3 °C. February 1956 was the coldest month with an average temperature of -6.7 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 9.2 °C in the years after 1951 and about 11.3 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 72 years, it has increased by about 2.1 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 1 weather stations in the Netherlands. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 5 stations in the Netherlands itself. In 9 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.