Summer frost measured in mid-July for first time in the Netherlands

Ground frost was measured in the Netherlands early on Tuesday, July 21. Summer frost is already a rare event, but this has never before occurred in the middle of July. 

Twente sees ground frost in middle of summer

At around 5.30am on Tuesday, July 21, ground frost with a low temperature of -0,1 degrees celsius was measured at a height of 10 centimetres in Twente, reports Weeronline. Up until now, frost had never been recorded in the Netherlands between July 20 and August 21. 

Summer frost showing up in July is very rare. Indeed, since measurements began in 1971, July frost has only been recorded nine times, the coldest of which was on July 4, 2019, when temps dropped to -1,6 degrees. 

In that same month, the Netherlands also saw the highest temperature ever recorded just three weeks later on July 25, 2019. According to NOS, the hot summer day saw the mercury shoot up to 40,7 degrees in Gilze-Rijen. 

Unique summer frost due to drought

Temperatures likely dropped below freezing due to the ongoing drought, reports NU.nl. Water levels are much lower than usual for this time of year, so much so that the Netherlands is experiencing an actual water shortage. 

"There is little moisture in the soil," a meteorologist told ANP. "During warm periods, the temperature can always drop significantly on clear nights, and it is precisely dry sandy soils like those in Twente that cool down particularly rapidly."