The Netherlands has seen quite a few showers In the last week of May 2024, bringing a rainy end to what is more than likely the wettest Dutch May since national measurements began in 1958. Fear not though, because the Dutch weather is expected to take a turn for the better with predictions for a drier and sunnier start to summer in June.
According to NOS, Southeast Brabant and Limburg saw the most rain in May with more than 200 millimetres of precipitation recorded, which is roughly four times the normal amount of rainfall for that area. At the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht, rainfall measurements have been getting closer to the 2007 record of 138 millimetres. If the record were broken it would be the most precipitation measured at that station since 1906.
Despite some Dutch cities in the central and southern parts of the Netherlands receiving large amounts of rainfall, the weather in May has been very erratic with major differences in other parts of the country. According to Carine Homan, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), it was relatively dry in other areas such as on the Wadden Islands and in the northeast, "In Hoogeveen, it is even a dry month, with only 47 millimetres so far, two-thirds of the normal amount."
Homan has said that it is impossible to make an exact prediction about the weather in the summer months, as the same model that predicted a wet spring does not show clear trends for June, July and August. "The long-term models do not indicate an increased chance of a wet or dry summer this time. Just average," said Homan.
The KNMI has however forecast that there is a 70 percent chance that June 2024 will start off dry with several moments of sunshine. Predictions from Weeronline.nl also show that the Netherlands could experience “significantly warmer weather than normal for the coming summer”.