Sunday was the first official summer day of the year

After a few regional ones, the first official summer day of the year became a fact at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Then thermometers climbed to 25 degrees at the national weather station in De Bilt, Weer.nl reported.

The last official summer day was on September 9, when maximums reached 26.4 degrees in De Bilt. So there were about eight months between summer days. Locally, maximums have already topped 25 degrees in various places in the Netherlands. Ell was the first spot to get a summer day on May 9 this year. 

In the current climate, from 1991 to 2020, the first official summer day fell on May 14 on average. Thirty years ago - 1961 to 1990 - that was 25 May. In 2007, the first official summer day was record early on April 14, breaking the 1904 record of April 15. Last year, the first official summer day happened nearly three weeks late, on June 1 - the first day of the meteorological summer.

De Bilt has an average of 28 summer days per year in the current climate, ten more than thirty years ago. At the start of the previous century, between 1901 and 1930, the Netherlands only had an average of 13 summer days per year. 

The rest of this week will also see summer weather, with some thunderstorms starting this afternoon in the east and southeast. These parts of the country can expect some thunder and heavy showers, possibly with hail and strong winds with gusts up to 70 kilometers per hour. Maximums will range between 20 degrees in the northwest and 26 degrees in the east. 

Tuesday will have calmer weather with plenty of sunshine and some clouds in the morning and afternoon. There will be little wind, and maximums will range between 21 and 27 degrees. 

Wednesday and Thursday will be even hotter. Weer.nl expects lots of sunshine on Wednesday. Some parts of the country may even see the year's first tropical day, with maximums reaching 30 degrees. Thursday will be wetter, with the first thunderstorm expected in the northwest in the morning and inland later in the day. Maximums will climb to between 22 and 29 degrees.