An unseasonably warm spell has brought the first official summer day to the Netherlands on Wednesday Temperatures climbed above 25 degrees Celsius in De Bilt marking an earlier arrival of summer conditions compared to the historical average The town is considered the point of reference for national weather records The early warmth was even more pronounced in the southern parts of the country WeerOnline reported that Woensdrecht reached 25.9 degrees closely followed by Westdorpe at 25.8 degrees and Eindhoven at 25.5 degrees It was not the first summer weather day everywhere in the Netherlands experienced a local summer day with a temperature of 25.3 degrees De Bilt only reached 22.8 degrees on that day meaning it did not qualify as an official summer day in the country “This summer day is clearly earlier than usual because on average the mercury rises to 25 degrees for the first time in De Bilt on May 16,” said WeerOnline the first 25-degree day in De Bilt occurred on May 2 the first nationally warm day was not recorded until June 9 when De Bilt reached a sweltering 27.6 degrees The summery conditions are expected to persist into Thursday with WeerOnline forecasting temperatures of 25 degrees or higher in many areas The southern region could even see highs around 28 degrees with cooler air from the northwest anticipated to move across the country on Friday While Friday will bring a drop in temperatures the central and southern regions could still experience highs between 22 and 26 degrees will see cooler conditions with temperatures ranging from 18 to 20 degrees The cooling trend is set to continue into the weekend with Sunday expected to be noticeably chilly De Bilt averages around 29 summer days per year based on the average from the past 30 years This is a slight increase from the 1991-2020 average of 28 days and a more significant rise compared to the 1980s The year with the most summer days in De Bilt was 2018 with an impressive 55 days reaching 25 degrees or higher Despite the warm weather, the rescue organization Reddingsbrigade Nederland warned people on Wednesday that the open waters will still be too cold to swim in. The water temperatures are expected to be around 11 degrees Celsius for the week. © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. Photo: DutchNews.nlDespite the overnight frosts of the past few days and the snow in the south of the Netherlands there has been no 24-hour period of sub zero temperatures at the De Bilt weather station for 756 days – and that means a new weather record Official weather records are set at De Bilt weather station which is regarded as the centre of the country temperatures there have not remained below zero for 24 hours since December 17 The previous record dated from 1974 to 1976 “Ice days” are becoming increasingly rare in the Netherlands as average temperatures rise there were an average of nine “ice days” a year in De Bilt There were also 32 official national “cold spells” last century which means five “ice days” in succession of which three involve at least -10° of frost The KNMI weather bureau says there will be night frosts this week in sheltered places After some light rain on Tuesday and Wednesday it will be dry with sunny spells leading up to next weekend We could not provide the Dutch News service without the generous support of our readers Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days We could not provide this service without you Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey The temperature at the weather measuring station De Bilt rose to 17.8 degrees Celsius this afternoon, making it the warmest March 7 ever measured. The old record was 17.7 degrees Celsius, which happened in 1991, Weeronline reported on Friday The national record was also broken at 2:40 p.m Wijk aan Zee saw temperatures rise to 19 degrees Celsius Limburg had temperatures of up to 18.9 degrees Celsius The old record for March 7 came at the now-dissolved weather station in Breda in 1906 Temperatures rose to 18.8 degrees Celsius on that date It was 17.8 degrees Celsius at De Bilt at one point Another record is expected to be broken on Saturday The record of March 8 is currently at 16 degrees Celsius and was measured in 2014 The national record is 18.9 degrees Celsius Temperatures are expected to rise to a possible 19 degrees Celsius on Saturday This is the second warm weather record to be broken this year. The first record was broken on February 21. Eight records related to hot or warm weather were broken in 2024. Records related to warm or hot weather have occured more often during this century. There are currently 187 days in the calendar year in which the highest temperature measured at De Bilt came in the last 24 years. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The sun shone for a total of 248 hours at the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht, where national records are kept, slightly surpassing the previous record set in 2022. This is almost 100 hours more than the average for March. The Wadden Sea island of Terschelling was the sunniest location in the country, with 273 hours of sunshine. Just five millimetres of rain were recorded nationwide, compared with 56 millimetres in a typical March. Friesland was the wettest region, with 45 millimetres. It was also warmer than usual, with an average temperature of 7.1°, compared with 6.5°, Weeronline said. April is set to continue in the same vein, with a mix of sunshine and cloud to start the week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are expected to be particularly bright and sunny, with temperatures rising to 17°. The KNMI’s long-range forecast also points to continued mild weather, albeit with less sunshine. We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day. Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days! We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here. Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey. Temperatures climbed to 17.1 degrees Celsius at the national weather station in De Bilt on Friday, making this the warmest February 21 ever measured. This breaks the previous record of 16.9 degrees Celsius in 2021. It is the first official spring day of the year. Typically, the first spring or mild day happens around March 9, but early spring days have been common in recent years, Weeronline reported. The first day of the year that temperatures reach 15.0 degrees Celsius in De Bilt is called the first official spring day or mild day. Last year, it happened on February 15. In 2023, it was on January 1 - an unbreakable record. Temperatures rose to 15.6 degrees in De Bilt on New Year’s Day 2023. Over the period 1995-2024, the first spring day happened on March 9. But in recent years, it has been very common to get the first mild day of the year earlier. In 2022, it happened on March 10, but 2021, 2020, and 2019 all had their first spring day in February. The latest first spring day on record was 1970, when thermometers topped 15 degrees in De Bilt for the first time on May 3. Warm weather is also expected at the weekend, but the temparatures will not be as high as today with rain and cloudy weather expected on Saturday. Eight heat records were broken in total last year. If the computer model plays out, this year’s Christmas will be extremely mild, with temperatures as high as 10° at night. In an average year, it would be close to 0°. The warmest Christmas on record was in 2015 when it reached 14° at the De Bilt weather station, where official records are set. There is, however, still a small chance that the temperature will be closer to normal for the time of year, Weeronline said. The current grey skies mark the longest period without sunshine since 1993 – so far eight days of overcast weather with drizzle. There is a slight chance of some sun on Tuesday and Thursday, Weeronline says. The record dates back to 1959 when there were 14 days straight without any sun. The weather was above 20 degrees Celsius on Monday at the weather station in De Bilt, making it the 100th warm day of the year. This is an increase on the average between 1994 and 2023, which is 96 warm days in a year. Last year saw 117 warm days, which was more than in 2022, when there were 112 days above 20 degrees Celsius, and 2021, when there were 98 days. The record for most warm days in a year came in 2018, when there were 132 warm days. This is the 14th time there have been 100 or more warm days in a year in the Netherlands, and 10 of those 14 years were from this century. Due to all the heat in recent years, the number of warm days is increasing rapidly. The period of 1991-2020 still had an average of 93 warm days, and a year still had an average of 71 warm days in the climate period of 1961-1990. The first warm day was on April 6, which is earlier than usual, as the first warm day above 20 degrees is usually around April 13. April ended with five warm days, and May had a total of 14 warm days. During the summer months of June, July, and August, temperatures rose to above 20 degrees on 65 occasions. September currently has 16 warm days, including on the day of writing, Monday, September 23. The south and southeast of the country have already surpassed 100 warm days in the year. Arcen in Limburg had its 116th warm day of the year on Monday, and Eindhoven has had 112 warm days thus far. Gilze-Rijen in Brabant has the record for most warm days in a year: 147 warm days in 2018. Photo: Dutch NewsSaturday is officially the warmest March 8 on record after the temperature topped 16.5° at the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht at around 11.20 am Saturday’s new high means there have been three weather records in a row Both March 6 and March 7 set led to new records in De Bilt Temperatures are higher in other parts of the country and are expected to top 20° in the south The regional record is currently 18.9° and was set in Maastricht Weeronline said the March 8 record is likely to end up even higher because the temperature will rise well into the afternoon Sunday too may break records but the warm sunny weather will end next week, when the temperature will plunge to as low as 8° with possible night frosts After an unprecedented 762 days without an "ice day," meteorologists in the Netherlands recorded the first such event on Saturday. According to Weeronline, the temperature in De Bilt remained below freezing for a full 24 hours never rising higher than a maximum of -0.7 degrees Celsius The city is considered a central average for the weather in the Netherlands and the weather station there serves as the basis for national records The last official ice day occurred on December 17 which is also home to Dutch meteorological institute KNMI the temperature never remained below freezing for an entire day from midnight-to-midnight the requirement for the "ice day" designation The KNMI attributes the decline in ice days to climate change the weather institute noted that since the 1960s the number of ice days in the Netherlands has been steadily decreasing While the average number of ice days per year in the 1960s was 11 This trend reflects an average reduction of 1.5 ice days per decade but they are also less cold," stated the KNMI The last time temperatures stayed below -10 degrees The coldest ice day of the current century occurred on December 2 when the temperature in De Bilt did not exceed -6.1 degrees shifting wind patterns have played a role in the decline of ice days winds in recent years have less frequently originated from the cold northeast and more often come from the milder west making future predictions about the frequency of ice days uncertain Despite the lack of ice days in De Bilt over the past two years some localities in the Netherlands recorded such events Hoogeveen experienced an ice day with a maximum temperature of -0.3 degrees while Heino in Overijssel reached -0.1 degrees regional ice days were observed on January 11 and January 17 The Netherlands is in the midst of the gloomiest period in 31 years. It has been eight days with no sunshine in De Bilt, the longest sunless period since 1993, Weeronline reported with the first solid chance for sunshine expected on Friday Though there is a chance of the sun briefly showing its face on Tuesday and Thursday Tomorrow morning will start with clear-ish skies Maximums will range between 8 and 10 degrees with a moderate to strong southwesterly wind Wednesday will be mostly dry and extremely mild for the time of year with maximums climbing to 14 degrees in the southwest Maximums will hover around 10 degrees Celsius the national weather station in De Bilt saw no sunshine for ten days we will end up with 11 sunless days this year That would be the gloomiest period since 1990.” The record for the longest series of gray skies and no sunshine is 14 days in 1959 The 15.1 millimeters of rain measured at the National Weather Station in De Bilt made New Year’s Day of 2025 the third wettest since the weather institute started keeping track of the weather in 1901 The most rain ever to fall on the first day of the year came in 1943 (19.1 millimeters) followed by 1939 and 2003 weather bureau Weeronline reported on Thursday For comparison: 2024 started with 10.3 millimeters of rain at De Bilt The storm that raged across the country on Wednesday is the seventh to fall on New Year’s Day The other storms came on the first day of 1995 Weeronline also thought at one point that 2025 was going to be the first New Year’s Day with a heavy storm the required hourly average of wind force 10 was not achieved The temperature on New Year’s Day was significantly lower than in the previous two years The maximum temperature went up to 9.1 degrees Celsius compared to 2023 when it went over 15 degrees Celsius and 2022 when it was a maximum of 13.2 degrees Low temperatures are expected for the first few days of the year The highest temperatures will likely be on Sunday and Monday with temperatures of around five degrees Celsius expected for the next few days Friday was officially the first warm day of the year in the Netherlands Weeronline reported that it was 20.4 degrees celsius at the weather station De Bilt at 1:10 p.m it is also the warmest March 21 since measurements began in 1901 The previous record for the highest temperature on March 21 came in 1938 Temperatures hit 20.3 degrees celsius on that date The national record was also broken earlier Arcen saw temperatures rise to 20.9 degrees beating the record set in Maastricht in 1927 Several other places in the country are experiencing temperatures of 20 degrees and higher. Maastricht, and Eindhoven have also hit temperatures of 20 degrees celsius or higher. Warm temperatures had already been forecast for what is the second day of spring which was also 20 degrees celsius in De Bilt The first locally warm day came on March 8 The earliest warm day measured came on March 17 in 1961 and on the same date in 1990. The latest date of the first warm day of the year came in 1983. It took until the last day of May for the country to experience its first warm day, according to Weeronline. De Bilt recored an average of 97 warm days in a year This is four more than the period from 1991 to 2010 and the period from 1985 to 2010 had an average of 85 warm days a year There were 71 days with temperatures rising to 20 degrees and up from 1961 to 1990 The record for most warm days in a year came in 2018 A total of 132 warm days were counted throughout the year This years of 2023 and 2003 came second and third with highest number of warm days Temperatures are expected to drop during the weekend Saturday will have temperatures of around 16 degrees celsius with some showers Sunday is expected to rise to around 17 degrees celsius The average temperature for the end of March is around 11 degrees celsius and that is the expectation for the temperatures next week The longest consecutive days without sun at the Netherlands’ national weather station The sun shone again to end an 11-day run without sunshine The sunless run started on December 9 and continued up to December 20 The last time that there was a longer period without sunshine at De Bilt was in 1990 This period was only one day short of the longest days without sun in December when there was no sunshine for 12 days from December 17 January’s record is also 12 days without sunshine which took place from January 16 to January 27 the temperature has been mild in the Netherlands during December thus far The average temperature is usually around 6 degrees Celsius but the last week has seen temperatures reach 13 degrees Temperatures are expected to drop to more expected December weather on the weekend It is likely to be around seven degrees Celcius in the daytime and around four degrees at night This Sunday is officially the warmest November 24 ever recorded in the Netherlands putting the old record from 1980 out of the books temperatures rose in the night from Saturday to Sunday The reason for this was a mild south-to-southwest wind The south of the country in particular is very warm for this time of year The highest temperature ever recorded in the Netherlands was 16.3 degrees on November 24 If the mercury rises above this mark at a weather station it is also the warmest November 24 ever recorded across all weather stations Heat records have already been broken seven times in 2024: on January 23 heat records are much more frequent than cold records nine times as many heat records have been set as cold records which is just under half of the calendar year there is a heat record for the maximum temperature in De Bilt that goes back to this century Friday was officially the warmest October 25 ever measured in the Netherlands The temperature at the national weather station in De Bilt rose to 18.4 degrees It is the seventh time this year that a weather record was broken on a certain date The record across all the weather measuring stations was also broken That record was 19.7 degrees and was measured in Maastricht in 1949 and in Ell in 2013 It was 20.2 degrees in Westdorpe on Friday and it will be 18 degrees in the northern part of the country and could rise to 21 degrees locally in Brabant and Limburg This is very mild weather for this time of year The usual temperature is around 13 or 14 degrees at the end of October It was 22.1 degrees in De Bilt and 23.3 degrees in Arcen on October 26 2006 2023 saw seven heat records and one cold record being broken eight heat records and one cold record were broken The winter of 2024-2025 in the Netherlands was warmer and drier than usual, with fewer frost days and a record-breaking warm day in February. National meteorological data shows that the country received less precipitation than normal, while December and January remained cloudy According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) the average winter temperature in De Bilt was 4.5 degrees The highest recorded temperature occurred on February 21 while De Bilt recorded a maximum of 17.9 degrees This marked the earliest date in the year for such a high temperature breaking the previous record of 16.9 degrees set in 1990 and 2021 The number of frost days in De Bilt totaled 29 only three days recorded moderate frost with temperatures below -5 degrees significantly fewer than the average of eight days we observed the first moderate frost in De Bilt which is unusually late," the KNMI reported The temperature that day fell to -5.4 degrees marking the coldest reading of the season in De Bilt Eelde recorded the most frost days with 40 The first moderate frost in the Netherlands was observed in Eelde on January 11 where the temperature dropped to -6.0 degrees also recorded sub -5-degree temperatures that day was not observed anywhere in the country this winter The lowest nationwide temperature of -8.8 degrees was recorded on February 18 in Twente January 18 marked the first official ice day in 762 days with De Bilt failing to reach above freezing at -0.7 degrees This ended a record-long period without an ice day since December 17 with the coldest maximum temperature occurring on January 19 in Twente at -1.8 degrees Despite the wet conditions in the latter half of 2023 with total precipitation amounting to 191 millimeters compared to the seasonal norm of 229 millimeters December and February were particularly dry while January had slightly above-average rainfall December saw 79 millimeters of precipitation some areas in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland received over 100 millimeters with Maasland recording the highest total at 141 millimeters January recorded 88 millimeters of precipitation with multiple locations receiving over 150 millimeters with many areas reporting between 60 and 80 millimeters January 1 was the third-wettest New Year's Day since 1901 Most of the country recorded less than 50 millimeters with some northeastern and southeastern areas receiving no more than 15 millimeters July was another soaking wet month in the Netherlands. The country got 109 mm of rain, compared to the 79 millimeters typical for the seventh month of the year, Weeronline reported with temperatures and sunshine hours around average for the time of year The average temperature in July was 18.1 degrees which is the climate average for 1994-2023 The global warming effect is clearly visible when looking at previous climate periods The average temperature for July between 1971 and 2000 was 17.4 degrees and 16.8 degrees in the period 1961 to 1990 This involves temperature measurements taken a the national weather station in De Bilt considered the average for the Netherlands Temperatures went in all directions this month with maximums below 20 degrees on the first five days the mercury rose to a summery 28.2 degrees in De Bilt on July 9 which ended in thunderstorms that brought cooler weather back into the country July 12th’s maximum was only 15.4 degrees in De Bilt The only tropical day this month was recorded on July 20 with maximums climbing to 30.0 degrees or higher July has had fewer than the usual nine summer days,” Weeronline said it came to three summer days in De Bilt.” The month had 23 warm days with maximums over 20 degrees - the typical amount July followed this year’s trend of being wetter than usual Only March and June got slightly less rain than typical for the time of year “The other months were clearly too wet.” July got 109 mm of rain across the country Enschede was the wettest place in the Netherlands this month A large part of this (68 mm) fell on Sunday “It has been soaking wet since October 2023,” Weeronline said a record 1,103 mm of rain fell across the country on average The typical rainfall for that period is 694 mm “No other year comes close to this.” The previous record dates from 2006/07 July still had slightly more than the typical number of sunshine hours The sun shone an average of 227 hours across the country 2024 in a Minot assisted living center surrounded by her loving family the second of six children on the family farm west of Berthold She attended grade school in Passport Township Her highlights as a child were riding a sleigh to school Her parents boarded teachers for extra money to buy a piano that she and her sisters learned to play and her accordion was the best Christmas gift received Eleanor graduated from Berthold High School in 1943 She attended Minot State Teacher’s College and taught school in Freedom Township Alfred was drafted and served in the Army She worked at Bader’s Dept Store in Minot and taught school in Afton Township until his return Alfred was interested in aviation and began to pursue a family business They raised their family of three sons while building the family business of Pietsch Flying Service and eventually all 3 sons were pilots actively flying for the business a plane crash claimed the life of their oldest son She continued to work in the business office at Pietsch Flying Service until moving to Colorado Springs She was employed at Colorado College in the business office until 1997 She had a very full life and was loved deeply by her family and many friends Markita Pietsch and Logan Pietsch both of Minot ND; great grandchildren Matthew and Owen Wald; sister Dorothy Roise of Garrison Celebration of Eleanor’s Life: 11:00 a.m Memorials are preferred to the Congregational United Church of Christ or the Dakota Territory Air Museum in memory of Eleanor Memories and condolences may be shared at www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com Copyright © 2025 Ogden Newspapers of North Dakota | https://www.minotdailynews.com | 301 4th St SE Since the celebration of King’s Day began in the Netherlands, only the 2020 edition has been consistently warm, sunny, and dry. The coldest King’s Day ever recorded occurred in 1970. Temperatures in De Bilt that day reached only 8.6 degrees, and the sun failed to appear at any point during the day, according to weeronline A historical look at the weather also reveals that King’s Days have generally been colder and wetter than Queen’s Days in the past. However Queen’s Day in 1955 still holds the record as the wettest royal holiday 2016 was the coldest royal holiday since 1985 with temperatures in De Bilt reaching just 10.7 degrees A notable detail is that in both 2016 and 2017 King’s Day was colder than the preceding Christmas—a rare occurrence Only in these two years has the royal holiday been colder than Christmas Rainfall has also marked King’s Day weather patterns King’s Day 2019 was the second-wettest royal holiday since 1949 with 8.9 millimeters of rain falling in De Bilt That year’s temperatures were between 12 and 14 degrees making the day cooler than average but not among the top 10 coldest King’s Days The wettest royal holiday remains Queen’s Day in 1955 when 9.6 millimeters of rain were measured Other notably wet years include 1979 with 8.4 millimeters and 2001 with 8.5 millimeters the coldest King’s Night or Queen’s Night ever recorded was in 1954 frost has been recorded during King’s Night or Queen’s Night on eight occasions The most recent instance of frost during King’s Night occurred in 2023 Frost was also observed during King’s Night in 2017 and 2015 the move from Queen’s Day on April 30 to King’s Day on April 27 has led to a decline in weather conditions for the holiday the average temperature on April 27 has been about 15 degrees making it more than a degree colder than the average for April 30 it rains more often on April 27 compared to April 30 King’s Day and Queen’s Day have a complex history of date changes that reflect adjustments for Sundays celebrations were moved to May 1 until 1980 King’s Day has officially been held on April 27 took place on April 26 because April 27 fell on a Sunday WBSC Europe has announced that Utrecht, the Netherlands, will host the next edition of the Women's Softball European Championship The biggest softball event in Europe will be played from 1 to 7 September This will be the second high-profile women's softball event next summer on the continent, with the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals being staged in Italy from 15 to 20 July The Women's Softball European Championship will be staged at the UVV softball complex the Nieuwegein Diamonds and the Centrals/Wombats in De Bilt fields Around 20 teams are expected to participate in the Women's Softball European Championship 2024 Utrecht hosted the WBSC Softball Olympic Qualifier in 2019 where Italy clinched their ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games The Dutch squad will defend their title on home soil. Netherlands defeated Great Britain, 7-0, in the final game of the European Championship 2022 played in Barcelona Europe will serve as the primary destination for women's softball fans In 2023, the Group Stage of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup took place entirely on European soil the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals and the European Championship will be staged two months apart with the first one scheduled for July and the second one for September Sitemap Media Data Protection Contacts Avenue Général-Guisan, 45 CH-1009 Pully | Switzerland The WBSC is recognised as the sole competent authority in Baseball and Softball by the International Olympic Committee The devastating heatwave that struck parts of Canada and the United States late last month would have been extremely unlikely without global warming Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01869-0 Reprints and permissions Why the green-technology race might not save the planet Carbon majors and the scientific case for climate liability Trump gutted two landmark environmental reports — can researchers save them? 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Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. 2025 A cool path through a tiny park in Amsterdam Photo: Dutch NewsThe temperature hit 25° at the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht on Wednesday making it the first official “summery” day of the year Temperatures of 25° and above are usually reached for the first time around May 16 The earliest “summery” day was recorded on April 14 Thursday is also set to bring summer temperatures the temperature is expected to fall again in the coming days There could be a few drops of rain on Friday and Saturday but overall the weather will be dry with sunny spells Official Dutch weather records are always set at De Bilt which is considered to be the centre of the country Temperatures of between 25° and 30° are said to be “summery” while over 30° is “tropical” After experiencing its longest stretch without sunshine in 31 years the Netherlands finally saw the sun return on Thursday overcast skies and gloomy weather gripped the country though it fell short of the record 14-day streak set in 1959 forecasts predict an unseasonably warm Christmas this year Daytime temperatures are expected to rise to 14°C well above the typical near-freezing levels This could make it one of the warmest Christmases on record rivaling the 2015 high of 14°C at the De Bilt weather station the site of official meteorological records Nighttime temperatures are also forecast to remain mild at around 10°C a significant departure from the usual winter lows of around 0°C While this year’s Christmas is set to be grey and green Weeronline noted a slight chance of temperatures returning closer to seasonal norms The forecast also suggests brief moments of sunshine on Tuesday and Thursday offering a small reprieve before more unsettled weather returns The reappearance of the sun is a welcome change after over a week of dreariness strong winds and mild temperatures may dampen the festive atmosphere as the Netherlands heads into the holiday season The Netherlands experienced its warmest day of 2025 so far on Thursday, as temperatures surged across the country, reaching nearly 30 degrees in some areas. According to KNMI, the highest temperature was recorded in Westdorpe The warm conditions are the result of a prolonged stretch of sunshine and dry weather that has characterized the past week many residents took advantage of the rare combination of heat and clear skies to spend time outdoors Though the heat came close to triggering the first tropical day of the year—defined as temperatures of 30 degrees or higher—no official record was broken The earliest tropical day ever recorded in the Netherlands remains April 21 when Venlo reached 32.2 degrees and Buchten in Limburg recorded 31.7 degrees The date-specific record for May 1 in De Bilt also remains unbroken with even higher values of 30.0 degrees in Eindhoven and Ell that same day Forecasters say a national heat record could still be broken on Friday particularly in the central and southern regions Inland areas may see temperatures between 25 and 28 degrees The existing May 2 record in De Bilt is 26.3 degrees The national record for all weather stations on that date is 27.5 degrees registered in Twente and Soesterberg in 1966 the weather is expected to be markedly cooler due to a shift in wind direction A northerly breeze coming in over the North Sea will limit temperatures there to between 17 and 20 degrees This signals the beginning of a gradual nationwide cooldown expected to continue into the weekend While Friday may still feel summery in southern regions the weekend will bring increasing cloud cover and showers southern parts of the country are likely to see rain with temperatures dropping to around 17 degrees which is National Remembrance Day in the Netherlands The day will be mostly cloudy with occasional rain and a high of just 12 degrees During the commemorations at Dam Square in Amsterdam in the evening temperatures will likely be around 9 degrees While some sunshine is expected between the clouds there is still no guarantee of a fully dry day Temperatures will rise slightly to around 15 degrees Unusually warm sea temperatures and calm weather conditions have also led to the appearance of zeevonk The bioluminescent algae were visible Wednesday night on Terschelling and warm evening temperatures on Thursday raised the chance of further sightings Zeevonk is a type of algae that thrives in warm When disturbed by waves or movement in the water the organisms emit blue light due to a chemical reaction The current warm spell follows a particularly sunny and dry April Meteorologists confirmed that April 2025 was the third-sunniest ever recorded in the Netherlands The early May warmth is a direct continuation of that pattern did not rise higher than -1.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday afternoon making it the very first official “ice day” of this winter Various weather agencies predicted that it would remain cold for the entire afternoon and evening on Tuesday and that temperatures will continue to fall at the main weather monitoring station An “ice day” is defined by the Dutch meteorological institute as being a day entirely below the freezing point where even the high temperature does not reach above 0 degrees the municipality is considered the meteorological average for the Netherlands The first ice day in De Bilt arrived earlier than average this winter the first day where the mercury does not rise above zero in De Bilt is 27 December The last time there was an official ice day was on 13 February last year when the temperature did not get warmer than -0.6 degrees at the main station This ice day was also the last in a series of seven consecutive ice days in De Bilt there are an average of six ice days in De Bilt per winter In the past winter season there were no official ice days and in the winter of 2019-2020 it also did not freeze for 24 hours on any given day in De Bilt the first official ice day of the year seemed to be a fact after a day full of frost the temperature rose just above zero in De Bilt still exceed zero in the evening It was a day where the temperature remained at or below the freezing point in Eelde The Netherlands has officially experienced its first moderate frost of the season, later than usual. The temperature in De Bilt reached -5.2 degrees in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to weather agency Weeronline. Typically the first moderate frost of the winter occurs around December 22 at the KNMI weather station the first moderate frost was recorded on January 18 with temperatures dropping to -6.6 degrees Other parts of the country saw even colder temperatures the lowest minimum temperature was recorded at -6.4 degrees The first local moderate frost this season was reported on January 11 when temperatures in Eelde dropped to -6.0 degrees both the first official moderate frost and the first local frost were delayed this year moderate frost did not occur until January 9 the first frost was recorded on November 19 and December 21 De Bilt saw its first moderate frost on January 21 The last time the country saw such a long delay was in 2019 when moderate frost was recorded on January 21 The number of frost days this season has so far remained below the average of ten per winter half-year The highest number of frost days in this century was recorded in 2003 and 2010 the Netherlands experienced a record 59 frost days while 53 days were recorded in 1947 and 49 days in 1940 For more than 35 years they helped put American Studies on the map: Joke Kardux and Eduard van de Bilt Joke: ‘We met when we were students in Utrecht where Eduard was a student of history and I a student of English During my studies I received a scholarship to attend Wellesley College Afterwards they encouraged me to obtain my PhD in America.’ Eduard: ‘That’s when I said: “You know what I could get myself interested in American history!” Together we applied to about nine or ten universities in the United States hoping that we would be accepted into the same one but we got accepted into all of the other ones Eventually we chose Cornell (in the state of New York In Amsterdam and Leiden they started teaching American Studies as early as during the 1950s but during the mid-80s the field got an extra boost in those cities and elsewhere in the Netherlands The funny thing is that we both applied for the new position of American Studies coordinator in Leiden During the interview when they asked if I found it beneath me to put up posters I joked: “If you give me the job I will let my husband put up those posters.” That made them laugh so hard that they hired me Six months later Eduard got hired at the University of Amsterdam he started working half his hours at Leiden in 1991.' We have always complemented each other very well During my maternity leave Eduard took over a course for me our private lives and work have always intertwined Eduard was on television quite a lot to talk about president Clinton we discussed this topic quite a lot at home as well Eduard: ‘When I would go to the market on Saturday morning the market trader would say: “Well you looked more well-rested on TV.” But it’s a good thing that the communication lines between us were short and that we were able to help each other further The American Studies programme (the minor American Studies and the master’s programme North American Studies Partly because of this we have always enjoyed working together with each other and with our colleagues.’ In the late-80s Joke started organising lecture series on topics such as African-American history and culture the Vietnam and Civil War and presidential elections where a lot of prominent Americans got to speak as guest speakers We welcomed all of those people when they came to the Netherlands That was demanding but also caused a lot of funny situations One time I ended up in a highly guarded diamond shop in Amsterdam with a guest speaker who wanted to buy a piece of jewellery for his wife Let me just say that that was an entirely new experience for me.’ Americans came to teach courses via the Fulbright visiting chair Usually their specialisation was different from those of us or our colleagues so that was a real enrichment of the programme We also took care of their accommodation for them a visiting professor and his family turned up with fifteen giant suitcases for a four-month stay when I went to pick them up at Schiphol airport It was like they had packed all of their household goods.’ Eduard: ‘Joke had to take the train because she couldn’t fit in the taxi.’ Each time we changed the last name to that of the president: From Bradford to Bush as well as three courses on American literature that I introduced at English language and culture at the time Another highlight were the large international conferences that we mainly the MESEA conference “Migration Matters” in 2008 with almost 300 speakers and the Leiden-Mayflower400 Conference in August 2020 the first Leiden conference organised entirely online.’ the flowers over there were given to me by those students but it mainly keeps feeling like I have forgotten to do something because all of a sudden I have no obligations anymore.’ Those activities suffered due to how busy the year was because of Covid I have two book manuscripts to finish and we want to publish a new edition of our book about the Pilgrims.’ Joke: ‘There are still publications to be released from the 2020 Pilgrim conference And we will babysit our granddaughter Zoya more often Oddly enough I am kind of glad that we got to experience this period of Covid especially during the first lockdown when we suddenly had to switch to online education when we had to organise even the Pilgrim conference online it turned this into a very special period in our careers.’ the group of religious refugees from England who set sail for America in 1620 Did they really live in peace with the indigenous peoples of America historians from Leiden will seek to draw attention to the more negative effects of the colonisation of North America They will also look at the Pilgrims’ Leiden period are often viewed as the early founders of the American nation it is exactly 400 years since these English migrants embarked on the Mayflower to cross from Plymouth in England to North America; numerous exhibitions books and commemorations are marking the anniversary of their voyage On board of the Mayflower were 100 English passengers radical Puritans who had separated from the Anglican Church had found refuge from religious persecution in their home country and lived in Leiden from 1609 to 1620 a first group of 53 Pilgrims left Leiden to establish a second English colony in America women and children who joined them when they embarked in England These 100 passengers (and the two babies that were born during the voyage) are now called the Pilgrims they introduced relatively democratic forms of governance that may have influenced the later political system in the United States.  ‘People in England and the United States used to think of Mayflower anniversaries as occasions for celebration,’ says Leiden American Studies expert Johanna Kardux ‘But in the past ten years or so more attention has been paid to the devastating effects for the indigenous peoples That’s why we prefer to call it a commemoration.’ Kardux and her co-author historian Eduard van de Bilt published the first edition of their book Newcomers in an Old City: The American Pilgrims in Leiden 1609-1620 in 1998 Together with Leiden city historian Ariadne Schmidt, Kardux and Van de Bilt are also organising a conference this summer Four Nations Commemoration: The Pilgrims and the politics of memory (26 - 28 August) Kardux explains: ‘Focusing on the way the Pilgrims’ story has been remembered we have chosen to take a four nations perspective referring to the four “nations” involved in the Pilgrim commemoration: England The title is intentionally a bit provocative to draw attention to indigenous perspectives on the history of the foundation of Plymouth Colony and its memorialisation.’ A selection of activities in the first half of Leiden 400: ‘The Native American perspective was neglected for a long time,’ notes Van de Bilt ‘It only really began to receive attention after the Second World War and it is only in the past ten years that much research into this field has been done at all.’ The Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony were a small group whose worldly ambitions Kardux: ‘They had to be if they wanted to survive Manuscripts from the time also show that they really were interested in the local indigenous culture.’ Many more English Puritans arrived in America to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 with the number of newcomers rapidly rising to 20,000 by 1642 This led to more conflicts with the indigenous population of the area which the British explorer John Smith had previously named New England Kardux: ‘This large group obviously had much more of an impact The Pilgrims’ first romanticised Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 is in stark contrast to the true effects of colonisation and the diseases that had already been brought over which decimated the indigenous population of North America.’ According to the story that was passed down from generation to generation in Wampanoag culture but the tribe had not initially been invited Hearing the gunshots with which the Pilgrims were celebrating the harvest a group of Wampanoag warriors came rushing up because they thought the English were under attack The Wampanoag version of the story has it that the English doubted their good intentions at first but ended up sharing the meal with them after all this story nowadays has more traction in the media than the traditional one Van de Bilt mentions another recent discussion in The New York Times: in 2019 it dedicated a series of articles to 1619 the year before the arrival of the iconic Mayflower This is when the first Africans were brought to Virginia Van de Bilt: ‘The myth that it all began with the Pilgrims in 1620 is debatable: these Africans the first “slaves,” arrived before the English Pilgrims Some historians argue that in the longer term slavery promoted a feeling of equality among white Americans albeit a democracy based on the fundamental inequality of millions of enslaved and indigenous people it is not just the Pilgrims who arrived in 1620 that stand at the cradle of American democracy.’ What is more English colonists had already settled in North America more than a decade earlier: they founded the first English colony One of the keynote speakers at the conference in Leiden is Jean O’Brien a history professor at the University of Minnesota and Native American citizen of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation in Minnesota She is co-author of a book about Massasoit Massasoit (the native word for ‘leader’; his actual name was Ousamequin) was present at the first Thanksgiving in 1621 O’Brien also debunks the myth of a serene meal to celebrate the peace because this disregards that the Wampanoag was a dynamic ethnic group under pressure from disease and colonisation O’Brien will look at the myths and memorial culture surrounding Massasoit A couple of members of the Wampanoag nation will also present papers at the conference The conference will also look at the Pilgrims’ sojourn in Leiden The group that we now call the Leiden Pilgrims had originally fled from England to Amsterdam in 1608 but in-fighting within the separatist English religious community that was already established there led the group to request and be granted permission to settle in Leiden in 1609 In those days Leiden was the second city after Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic and it was general knowledge that the city had welcomed thousands of Protestant refugees from the south (now Belgium and Northern France) The group most certainly also chose Leiden because it had a university Their pastor John Robinson had studied theology at the University of Cambridge little attention has been paid to the Leiden period American descendants of the Leiden Pilgrims usually know the story but the same is not true for the general public Kardux: ‘In our book we expressly treat the Pilgrims as migrants who like other newcomers were afraid of losing their identity because their children were gradually assimilating into Dutch culture.’ The main source for the early 17th-century history of the Pilgrims is a book chronicling the founding and early history of Plymouth Colony by Pilgrim William Bradford who also lived in Leiden and was many times re-elected as governor of Plymouth Colony His book Of Plymouth Plantation is one of the classics of American history and literature Bradford devotes a whole chapter to Leiden which he calls ‘a fair and beautiful city’ what their life was like there and why they decided to leave again in the end A few factors prompted the Pilgrims’ departure the English separatists were not safe from the long arm of the English law they were afraid that the second generation would assimilate too quickly Kardux: ‘Parents saw how their children preferred to go ice skating with their Leiden peers on a Sunday rather than going to church They saw themselves as English men and women rather than new Dutch citizens.’ Van de Bilt points to the hard life they had here but many of them earned very little as unskilled workers in the textile industry.’ Genealogical research has shown that nine American presidents are descendants of the Leiden Pilgrims is a descendant of the Leiden Pilgrim family Blossom with Presidents George Bush senior (who visited Leiden in 1989 see photo: National Archive/Rob Croes) and son George W This makes Obama and Bush distant relatives of each other Zachary Taylor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt are also descendants of the Leiden Pilgrims We know that a number of Pilgrims had links with Leiden University Their minister John Robinson was most interested in the heated theological debate between professors Gomarus and Arminius and their followers Gomarus strictly followed the Calvinist doctrine of predestination and believed that people could not influence their own salvation believed that human free will played a role too The Pilgrims initially held their church services in Robinson’s house on Kloksteeg but once their congregation had grown to a few hundred members they most probably held their Sunday services in the nearby Faliede Begijnhof Chapel at the University Part of this former chapel is now a wing of the University’s Administration and Central Services department on the Rapenburg Canal.  Some Pilgrims such as Thomas Brewer were enrolled at Leiden University together with John Robinson one of the main leaders of the Pilgrims He and Brewer set up a secret ‘Pilgrim Press’ in his house on Pieterskerkchoorsteeg where he published separatist theological manuscripts that were smuggled to England Both were arrested on the orders of the English king probably with the help of the Leiden authorities which came in very handy when the English demanded his extradition to England The University beadle protected Brewer during his journey to Rotterdam According to Pilgrim historian Jeremy Bangs other Pilgrims also attended the University is thought to have attended lectures by engineer Ludolph van Ceulen and Pilgrim doctor Samuel Fuller most probably learned about anatomy in the University’s anatomical theatre Historians speculate about the extent to which the Pilgrims were influenced by their time in Leiden A second keynote lecture at the conference in Leiden the Pilgrims introduced the division of church and state relatively democratic forms of governance – just as in the Dutch Republic Did they draw their inspiration from the Netherlands And was their first Thanksgiving influenced by the annual Thanksgiving service in Pieterskerk church on 3 October celebrating the liberation of the city from the Spanish in 1574 The Leiden or Dutch influences should not be exaggerated Some ideas and experiences already dated from England ‘The idea that the Pilgrims laid the foundation of the democratic tradition can also be linked to their break with the Anglican Church and the establishment of small independent congregations in which there was also an important role for laypersons.’ And some American historians argue that the Pilgrims only came up with innovations once they were in America and that their relatively democratic forms of governance were an adjustment to the frontier conditions of the new colony.   Kardux thinks that the Pilgrims’ pastor John Robinson was influenced by his stay in Leiden: ‘Robinson was an orthodox Calvinist but he did to some extent become more tolerant in Leiden We can see this in his letters to the colonists in Plymouth He advised them to be open to the new conditions and to the indigenous population.’ But she also emphasises: ‘We want to call attention to their sojourn in Leiden but we don’t want to start creating new myths.’ Picture above article: ‘The Embarkation of the Pilgrims’ (1857) by Robert Walter Weir Saturday marks the first official warm day of the year At the main weather station in De Bilt it was 20.1 degrees on Saturday at 12.30 p.m. it is only 20 degrees or more in De Bilt on April 13 It is even warmer in other parts of the country it is 21.6 degrees and in Enschede 22.4 degrees it is only an official warm day when the temperature reaches 20 degrees or more at the weather station in De Bilt The first local warm day is always earlier in the year the first warm day was not recorded on average until April 9 the first local warm day did not occur until much later temperatures rise to 20 degrees or more on average 110 days a year it only gets warm enough to be called a warm day on 96 days a year According to the weather service Weeronline the most warm days were recorded in summer 2018 147 warm days were recorded in Gilze-Rijen in Brabant and 146 in Arcen in Limburg At least 140 warm days were also measured in Eindhoven Looking for a room in Utrecht has become a nightmare which is why more and more students have been opting to live on the outskirts of the city instead DUB spoke with three students about what it's like to live in places like Bunnik Spoiler: The rooms are bigger and the rent is more affordable but going out in Utrecht can be a hassle “Up until three months ago, I was commuting daily between Zevenbergen and Utrecht. The trip took one hour and forty minutes each way, which I considered way too long, so I really needed to find a room. "I spent a long time searching in Utrecht. I registered for an SSH room and I was on their waiting list for a long, long time but nothing turned up. I would be living in Utrecht if I could but I was forced to expand my search. I looked for rooms on the outskirts of Utrecht as well. It seemed like a good idea to not live in the city. After all, I come from a small town myself and I've always enjoyed that."  "I also miss sports facilities and big libraries to study in Driebergen. But, so far, that's not a reason to move to Utrecht just yet. If I could put this house in the city centre of Utrecht, with the same roommates, I would because it's so much fun here. That's why I'm going to stay in Driebergen for now." ‘I'm not going to bike for an hour just to have a drink"  “I come from De Lutte, a small town on the border with Germany. The room I currently occupy was actually one of the first that I came across on a Facebook page called Kamer in Utrecht (Room in Utrecht, Ed.). It was only later on that I found out that the room wasn't actually in Utrecht, but rather on the outskirts of the city. So, this wasn't a deliberate choice. "Every now and then, people will ask me if I'm still looking for a room in Utrecht because they have something to offer. I consider it for a moment but then I remember that I'm so happy with my room and how much I'm paying for it. The rent prices in Utrecht don't really motivate me to move there."  "Maybe I'll move towards the city centre at some point, just to experience what it's like to live in the city. Bunnik really is a small town. However, I've noticed that more and more students are moving here, so I wouldn't be surprised if more places to go out, such as bars and pubs, were to pop up soon. Still, I prefer to go to Utrecht for that sort of thing because all my friends live there and I'm used to cycling long distances. Sometimes people only want to have one drink, though. That's not worth it to me, so I don't do it. I'm not going to bike for an hour just to get one drink. But, usually, I don't mind biking two or three times a week to Utrecht to enjoy some drinks."  “I live about 10 minutes by bike from the Utrecht Science Park and 15 minutes away by bike from the city centre. My apartment is located above a Kruidvat store (a chemist, Ed.) and Albert Heijn (a supermarket, Ed.). I can roll out of my bed straight into those stores. "Last year, I moved from Epe to De Bilt to study Psychology. I share this place with seven other students. We have our meals together quite often and we also enjoy going out together. It's a lot of fun! "One of the main reasons why I chose to study in Utrecht is the city's central location, which allows me to go anywhere. There are surely fewer things to do in De Bilt, compared to Utrecht. There are no bars or pubs, for example. But there are beautiful forests towards Bilthoven where you can go for a walk or a run. "It's so nice and quiet here. I like that it's not as crowded as the city centre. I know some students who don't have a room yet and they are considering living in De Bilt just like me. I'd recommend it!" The previous record of 14.4° was set in 1980. The warmest place on Sunday was Maastricht, where the temperature reached 16.8°. The temperature is also set to remain between 13° and 16° on Monday, double the average temperature at the end of November, but it well below the 17.2° record recorded in De Bilt in 2006. There have now been eight warmest day records so far this year, and none for cold. According to weather bureau Weeronline, the Netherlands has a warm winter ahead, although there could be some light night frosts at the beginning of December. Weather models also indicate a warmer January and February than normal although a chilly eastern wind could have an impact in January. So far six winters this century have been colder than average, and that means there is a 25% chance of chilly winter this year, Weeronline says. In addition, eight of the 10 warmest autumns on record were followed by mild winters. And as along as the wind in December blows over the relatively warm North Sea, “a really chilly winter is a long way off”, Weeronline said. 2023 Photo: Dutch NewsA new weather record was set in the Netherlands on Thursday with no rain at the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht since May 13 The dry stretch of 34 days is the longest period of drought ever recorded in the Netherlands, according to calculations by weather bureaus Weeronline and Weerplaza which base their claims on the readings in De Bilt The previous record dates from 2007 when it did not rain in the area between April 4 and May 6 The meteorological office bases its position on the results at 13 weather stations nationwide and says there is no chance of any drought record being broken this year but it could be raining everywhere else,” researcher Frank Selten told news website Nu.nl He says a small amount of rain was recorded at two of those weather stations last week so there is no question of any record being broken The situation is emphasised on the KNMI website “We call a day dry in the Netherlands if there is less than 0.3 millimetres of rain at the 13 weather stations spread over the Netherlands On July 7 and 8 there was a little rain at two of them but the De Bilt weather station is where most weather records are based – such as hottest temperatures and longest spell of “tropical weather” As the KNMI website says, “in the Netherlands, a heatwave is five successive days in De Bilt where the temperature is at least 25° and of which three are classed as tropical – so 30° or more Meanwhile, both the KNMI and Weerplaza are forecasting little change in the current heatwave for the next few days But both stay storms are becoming increasingly likely in the east on Monday the month saw more rainfall and more sunshine than average with temperature of around 15.7 degrees Celsius The month kicked off with near-tropical warmth Utrecht—the first summer-like September day in 33 years De Bilt is home to the Dutch meteorological office KNMI which makes it the location of the Dutch weather average measurements which are then used to determine national weather records reaching 32.3 degrees in Maastricht and 31.4 degrees in Arcen the main weather station in De Bilt recorded 16 warm days compared to the normal of 13 with temperatures hitting 25 degrees or more with temperatures dipping to between 3 and 6 degrees on several occasions The first ground frost of the post-summer period was recorded on September 13 in Twente where temperatures reached -0.3 degrees at ground level as ground frost typically occurs for the first time around September 28 With an average temperature of 15.7 degrees September 2024 ranks as the twelfth warmest September on record with an average temperature of 17.9 degrees Last year also saw an average of 17.5 degrees Rainfall this month averaged 103 millimeters nationwide September can be classified as a particularly wet month the country has received 801 millimeters of rain while the typical measurement should be around 608 millimeters September 2024 was not record-breaking; that title remains with September 2001 this September recorded 174 hours of sunshine The record for the most sunshine hours remains with 1959 Home   News   Article Two new councillors have been co-opted onto Stansted Parish Council Newcomer Sanjukta Ghosh joins Tom Van De Bilt who is reprising his parish role after a two-year absence due to work commitments will now fill two of the three parish council vacancies after members voted unanimously in favour of co-opting them onto the authority Sanjukta told last week’s full council that she was focused on heritage and conservation and creating a pub hub concept for community activities Tom spoke about his particular concerns over open spaces and was keen to be part of the airport liaison committee Got a story for the Stortford Indie? Email us at newsdesk@bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk and temperatures below 20C until May April 21 Photo: Dguendel via Wikimedia CommonsFlowers at the Keukenhof Photo: Dguendel via Wikimedia CommonsThe tulip fields are a blaze of colour ducklings are paddling about the canals and school holidays are around the corner but spring is most definitely not in the air In contrast to recent years when temperatures of more than 20C have been common in the second half of this month the national weather station at De Bilt has yet to reach 16C Forecasters say it is almost certain that the first official ‘warm day’ of 2023 when the temperature at De Bilt reaches 20C will not be until May – the first time that has happened since 1997 North-eastern provinces could hit 19C or possibly even 20C this weekend, but sun seekers will need to dash out in between heavy showers. A yellow warning has been issued across the country for Friday evening with forecasters warning of high winds and local hailstorms For the first half of next week a cold north-westerly wind will keep daytime temperatures down to between 9C and 11C – well below the seasonal average – and nights could even bring a touch of frost Aside from three days at the end of October when the mercury nudged past 20C the last time the Netherlands enjoyed a sustained spell of warm weather was mid-September ‘We’ve been very unfortunate with the weather this year,’ Johnny Willemsen ‘At this time of year we just need a good airstream coming up from the south and we’re well above 20 degrees ‘But if you get the wind coming from the east or north-east in March and April it’s a lot colder ‘We could get up to 20 degrees locally on Saturday but the chance of it happening at De Bilt is very small Realistically it won’t be until May.’ The recent weather may have kept the barbecue in the shed but it has had no impact on the long-term trend of global warming 2023 has had one of the warmest starts to the year on record with an average temperature of just below 7 degrees The most recent daily heat record was set on January 1 when De Bilt recorded a maximum of 15.6C – still one of the five warmest days of 2023 so far and the highest reading ever in January Both January and February were around 2 degrees warmer than recent averages ‘Climate is something you measure over 30 years,’ said Willemsen ‘One cold month doesn’t tell you anything about climate change Even in a warming climate we can still get cold winters.’ King’s Day on Thursday is likely to follow the trend of recent years sunshine and 15C feels like nice weather,’ Willemsen said Temperatures could reach 20C at De Bilt around Liberation Day on May 5 just as the school holidays come to an end The sun has shined for just 27 hours so far in December in the Netherlands That is less than half of the average through December 26 and cloud cover expected on New Year’s Eve Every day through the end of the year carries a chance of sunshine of only about 10 percent according to Dutch meteorological office KNMI National data and records are based on the weather at any given moment in De Bilt the municipality has long been considered the country's meteorological average Friday kicked off with warnings for dense fog that reduced visibility below 200 meters The relatively dry winter day was unlikely to rise above 4 or 5 degrees Celsius with a slim possibility of low clouds breaking up in the southeast It should remain cloudy and foggy on Saturday with the cloud cover remaining through Monday as a slightly stronger southwesterly wind brings warmer temperatures The chance of stormy weather with stiff wind gusts and heavier rain will build on New Year's Eve Though the KNMI is predicting sustained inland winds peaking at 29 kilometers per hour WeerOnline meteorologists believe this could be more powerful with strong gusts depending on the development of weather systems over the Atlantic Ocean headed towards the Netherlands the prospects look anything but favorable," the website stated with heavy gusts possible along the North Sea coast on New Year's Day making for a potentially unpleasant annual New Year's Dive at Scheveningen Beach in The Hague For those who have been in the Netherlands for most of December it will likely be a disappointing end to the generally unpleasant weather this month The sun did not come out once in De Bilt from December 9 to 19 marking 11 days without sun for the first time since 1990 The 27 hours of sunshine observed so far will likely rise slightly putting this December among the 20 gloomiest on record in the Netherlands The sun peaked out for 14 hours in December 1911 and 16 hours during the same month in 1934 That marked the two darkest Decembers since record-keeping began in 1901 The broadcaster also noted the sun emerged for only 17 hours in December of 1988 Cloud cover is normal in the Netherlands in December with the sun emerging for only about 18 percent of daylight hours on average Meteorologists at NOS said this is because the colder air means water vapor condenses into clouds more easily As the daylight period began getting longer again after the winter solstice last week the average period of sunshine breaking through clearer skies rises to 26 percent in January New Year's Day will see a 70 percent chance of rain and January 2 will carry an 80 percent chance of rain "Initially there is a high chance of a continuation of the mild cloudy and possibly stormy type of weather," the office predicted from January 3 onward those in the Netherlands have a 50-50 chance of getting colder weather with overnight frost The chance of snow will hold around 30 percent but there will also be "more space for the sun." Utrecht briefly rose about 20 degrees Celsius on May 4 marking the first officially warm day in the Netherlands in 2023 Official weather conditions for the country are recorded in De Bilt where the meteorological office KNMI is located An "official" warm day is recorded when the temperature rises above 20.0 degrees The temperature in De Bilt hit 20.2 degrees at 1:20 p.m., according to records from the KNMI. It is the first time that has happened since October 30, 2022, weather website Weeronline reported. That marks a total of 186 consecutive days below 20 degrees. It was not the longest wait for a warm day that residents of the country have faced. The first warm day of 2008 was on April 25 after a 215 day wait. It took 214 days before a warm day was recorded on April 24, 2010. Last year, the KNMI registered the first warm day on April 11, 196 days after the previous time the thermometer hit 20 degrees, Weeronline said. Over the last three decades, the first warm day in De Bilt is set on average on April 13. Though that mark was missed by three weeks this year, the effects of climate change are very noticeable. Between 1981 and 2010, the first warm day was most likely to occur on April 16, and in the three decades prior, the average was April 22. By 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, the mercury climbed to 21.0 degrees in De Bilt, but it rose even higher elsewhere, topping 22 degrees in several locations. At Maastricht-Aachen Airport, the temperature touched 22.7 degrees, and it was 22.5 degrees in Eindhoven. Moments before, the KNMI recorded 22.3 degrees in Wilhelminadorp. The KNMI had said throughout the day that it could even hit 23 degrees in some areas in the south of the country. Spring weather was far from the norm in April. The fourth month of the year was cold, wet and gloomy. The average temperature came to 8.8 degrees, while 9.9 degrees is normal for this time of the year. The total number of hours of sunshine were also considerably lower. It did rain, and heavily too, records collected by Weeronline showed. April is normally the driest month of the year, with a national average of 41 millimeters of precipitation. However, this year, April has become the third excessively wet month, after January and March, with about 80 millimeters of rainfall on average. Most regions experienced 70 to 100 millimeters, with the wettest conditions in parts of Gelderland and the Zaanstreek region. It was driest in the north of Groningen and in parts of Limburg, receiving around 55 millimeters of rainfall. For the third consecutive year, the temperatures in April were lower than on average. The average temperature in the previous year was 9.3 degrees, while in 2021, it was only 6.7 degrees. In De Bilt, Utrecht, it froze on five nights this month, compared to four normally. Despite a few locally warm days towards the end of April, a warm day has not yet been officially recorded. That is where the temperature tops 20 degrees in De Bilt, considered the meteorological average for the country. This is the first time since 1997 that not a single warm day was recorded before May, with the highest temperature at the main station reaching 17.2 degrees. In addition to being cold and wet, April saw fewer sunshine hours than usual. The sun shone for an average of 185 hours over the month, compared to 196 hours normally. For the first time since 2018, the sunshine hours dropped below 200. Coastal areas experienced the most sunshine with around 200 hours, while the southeast of the country was the gloomiest, with Eindhoven and Maastricht receiving only 170 to 175 sunshine hours. This year’s summer had an above-average temperature and more hours of sun than usual. This was reported by Weeronline in their summer overview. At the national weather station in De Bilt, the average temperature for the three months was 17.8 degrees Celsius, compared to the usual average of 17.2 degrees. This mainly happened because August was more than one degree warmer than the climate average. There was no heat wave this summer, which is quite remarkable, according to Weeronline. “The last year without a regional heat wave was 2011.” There were four tropical days in De Bilt this summer, 19 or 20 summer days of 25 degrees or more, and 65 days where it was 20 degrees or warmer. This summer, the sun shone an average of 40 to 50 hours more than usual across the country. There were around 701 hours of sun compared to 656 hours of sun that usually occurs during this climate period. That was also due to the sunny weather in August. The sun shone the most near the coast, a characteristic of summer. The national average precipitation amount was normal this summer: 232 millimeters fell, compared to 233 millimeters usual. The wettest was in Denekamp in Overijssel, with 400 millimeters, which resulted in flooding in June. There was also an official summer storm on July 6 when there was an average wind force of 9 in IJmuiden for two hours. The Dutch National Weather Service, the KNMI, handed out a code orange for heavy thunderstorms on July 9, 13, and 24 august. Downwind caused considerable damage in Drenthe on August 24. The warmest temperature of the summer was 34.9 degrees in Nieuw Beerta, Groningen, on August 13. With no snow anywhere in the Netherlands at all on Christmas Day the new record beats that dating from the early 1990s by one day The last official snowfall recorded at the De Bilt weather station near Hilversum was on February 2 although there has been a sprinkling in southern parts of Limburg since then there must be more than one centimetres of snow in De Bilt at 9am The last time there was an official white Christmas in the Netherlands was in 2010 and thousands of children and grownups in the Netherlands will head back to school and work today The weather is expected to be cold but sunny and dry The first official frost day of the year was recorded in De Bilt on Sunday with some light snow possible in the south with maximums ranging between -2 and 1 degrees Celsius The rest of the week will be abundantly sunny and very cold Daytime temperatures will range around freezing Weeronline predicts higher temperatures from Thursday The sunny and dry weather means that the first official working day of the year shouldn’t lead to extreme traffic jams on Monday. Rijkswaterstaat and ANWB expect an average morning rush hour, with the most traffic jams in Zuid-Holland and Noord-Brabant. At 7:26 a.m., the ANWB reported 42 traffic jams covering 200 kilometers of Dutch roads The first official frost day of the year was recorded at the national weather station in De Bilt on Sunday, Weeronline reported Temperatures dipped below freezing in De Bilt - considered the average for the Netherlands - late on Sunday afternoon The previous official frost day was on December 7 The cold weather expected in the coming days is great news for ice skating enthusiasts. According to Weeronline, skating on natural ice will almost certainly be possible on well-maintained natural ice rinks this week Never before since temperature records started has October begun as warm as this year in the Netherlands. According to Weeronline the first ten days of the month set a record with an average temperature of 16.6 degrees “It was noticeably warmer than usual on all ten days and the nights were remarkably mild,” Weeronline wrote Official weather records for the Netherlands are recorded in De Bilt which is considered a meteorological center for the country the typical average temperature is 12.2 degrees The previous record for the warmest start to October was 15 degrees a minimum temperature of 9 degrees is typical but the lowest minimum temperature in De Bilt this year was 11.6 degrees According to the Dutch meteorological institute KNMI this year’s exceptionally warm autumn may be an average autumn in 2050 The average temperature in De Bilt in autumn is 10.9 degrees this will be between 0.8 and 1.7 degrees higher The Netherlands is facing a new heat record as September 10 has never been warmer than in 2023 two other records were also broken on Sunday The regional heat wave in September extended from six to seven days and the national heat record was also broken Weather stations in Eindhoven and Hoek van Holland measured 30.5 degrees in the early afternoon Another record that could be in the making is the number of consecutive summer days there were seven consecutive days with 25.0 degrees or warmer With the weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday March 2025 was a record-breaking month in the Netherlands, with exceptionally high sunshine hours and the lowest recorded rainfall for the month. The country saw an average of 248 hours of sunshine, far exceeding the normal 150 hours. Additionally, only 5 millimeters of precipitation fell nationwide, a stark contrast to the usual 56 millimeters, according to weeronline. This March was officially the sunniest on record surpassing the previous high of 245 hours set in 2022 The northwest of the country recorded the highest sunshine totals followed by Stavoren and Den Helder with 265 hours each the southeast experienced relatively lower sunshine levels with Maastricht recording 230 hours and Ell 235 hours The month began with a particularly bright start setting a new record for the first ten days of March breaking the previous record of 89 hours from 2022 Hoek van Holland registered the highest total for this period overtaking the previous record of 94.3 hours set in Deelen in 2022 The second ten-day period (March 11-20) ranked as the third sunniest on record with 79 hours of sunshine—just one hour short of the record the final third of the month (March 21-31) was comparatively less sunny The record-breaking trend extended to De Bilt where the first ten days of March saw 93.2 hours of sunshine breaking the previous record of 91.7 hours the Netherlands has recorded an average of 413 sunshine hours just shy of the 423-hour record set in 2022 March 2025 was not only exceptionally sunny but also the driest March ever recorded The nationwide average precipitation was a mere 5 millimeters breaking the previous record of 9 millimeters set in 1929 and 2022 some regions experienced localized heavy rainfall Leeuwarden recorded the highest precipitation total with 33 millimeters falling on March 23 alone bringing its monthly total to 45 millimeters This was significantly higher than surrounding areas in Friesland where rainfall ranged from 10 to 20 millimeters and the Wadden Islands saw totals between 10 and 18 millimeters while most of the country recorded between 0 and 10 millimeters with an average temperature of 7.1 degrees averaging 13.6 degrees—well above the usual 10.6 degrees nighttime temperatures were colder than average with an average low of 0.9 degrees compared to the normal 2.3 degrees The lower nighttime temperatures resulted in a high number of frost nights The lowest temperature recorded in De Bilt was -4.3 degrees on March 3 The coldest temperature in the country was -6.7 degrees Eelde also had the highest number of frost nights this fell far short of the record set in March 1969 Other locations with frequent frost nights included Heino Several warm weather records were set in early March De Bilt matched the 1989 record of 17.8 degrees the temperature in De Bilt reached 18.1 degrees surpassing the 1991 record of 17.7 degrees The highest nationwide temperature that day was 19.2 degrees in Arcen while Wijk aan Zee and Twente recorded 19.0 degrees making it the first location to experience a locally warm day this year Such high temperatures so early in the year are rare—before this year only once had De Bilt recorded 19 degrees or higher in the first half of March March 21 saw another record-setting temperature in De Bilt This marked the first official warm day of the year De Bilt does not exceed 20 degrees until April 12 The earliest recorded official warm day in De Bilt remains March 17 The highest temperature recorded nationwide on March 21 was 22.8 degrees in Maastricht Many locations saw temperatures between 20 and 22 degrees The Netherlands recorded its warmest March 8 ever. At 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, the temperature in De Bilt, where the Dutch meteorological institute KNMI is based, reached 16.5 degrees Celsius (61.7 degrees Fahrenheit), officially breaking the previous March 8 record of 16.0 degrees set in 2014, weeronline reports. Even higher temperatures were recorded elsewhere the temperature in Hupsel rose to 19.0 degrees surpassing the previous nationwide record of 18.9 degrees measured in Maastricht in 2014 The heat marks the third time in 2025 that a daily high-temperature record has been broken. On February 21, De Bilt recorded 17.9 degrees, the highest temperature ever observed so early in the year. On March 6, temperatures tied the previous record set in 1989, while on March 7, another daily record was set the Netherlands has recorded 185 daily warm-temperature records compared to just 19 cold-temperature records highlighting a trend of increasing heat extremes While individual daily temperature records cannot be directly attributed to climate change the stark contrast between warm and cold records provides an indication of broader climate shifts Warm-temperature records have occurred nine times more frequently than cold records so far this century The unseasonably warm weather has been accompanied by mostly sunny skies Forecasters expect temperatures to remain high on Saturday a significant cooldown is expected after the weekend reportedly making further record-breaking temperatures unlikely in the coming days