Record temperatures last weekend: Spring has arrived in the Netherlands

After Storm Dennis this weekend, the Netherlands is experiencing uncommonly warm weather for February: so much so that we’re getting spring temperatures, even though the astronomical spring only begins on 20 March.

First spring temperature recorded on Sunday in De Bilt

For the first time this year, the thermometer in De Bilt hit 15 degrees on Sunday. 15 degrees is used as the official measure of spring weather. But this temperature, already very mild, was not the hottest recorded in the Netherlands over the weekend.

Yesterday, in the Limburg Arcen, 18.3 degrees was measured. This broke the temperature record for 16 February by a whole degree. The record for the same date in De Bilt, 13.3 degrees, was already broken the night before.

Not unusual for February to be warmer than average

It’s not completely unusual for February to be warmer than average- this often happens if there is a storm, according to weatherman Gerrit Hiemstra in an interview with NOS. And we’ve seen our fair share of storms over the past two weeks, with Storm Ciara last week, and Storm Dennis this weekend.

… but we’re hitting spring temperatures a whole month early this year

However, this February will be four degrees warmer than usual as a whole, and we should not expect colder weather for the next two weeks at least. The average date for the first spring temperature is 16 March- which, as you can see, we’re hitting a whole month early this year.

The aftermath of Storm Dennis

Storm Dennis hit the Netherlands this weekend, but generally left behind only light damage. In Middelburg the Koorkerk and a building near the monumental Stadsschuur were damaged and on Texel the facade of a house in Den Burg collapsed during the storm. Some flights into Schiphol were cancelled, mostly coming out of the UK.

These temperatures are not good news

Although you might feel tempted to celebrate this warm weather- after all, any improvement on Dutch weather is worth celebrating- it’s worth bearing in mind the elephant in the room, climate change. A warmer climate means, among other things, rising sea levels, which is bad news for this flat country.

What was your experience of Storm Dennis? Let us know in the comments below. 

Feature Image: Hans/Pixabay

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