October the fourth exceptionally warm month this year

The average temperature for the month of October was 13.2 degrees, compared to the typical 10.9 degrees. That made October the fourth exceptionally warm month of the year with a temperature deviation of at least 2 degrees, Weeronline reported. The month also got significantly more rain than typical and somewhat less sunshine.

This month didn’t break the record for the hottest October ever but did end up in the top 5. The warmest October dates from 2001, with an average temperature of 14.2 degrees. The first ten days of this month were record warm, with an average temperature of 16.6 degrees in De Bilt, breaking the 2001 record by 1.6 degrees.

De Bilt had seven warm days, with maximums of 20 degrees or higher, in the first half of the month. The south counted ten warm days. Typically, there are two warm days in De Bilt in October and three in the south.

The second half of October saw more typical temperatures for the time of the year. On October 15, temperatures remained below 15 degrees everywhere in the country for the first time since May 2.

With an average of no less than 148 mm of rain across the country, October was a soaking-wet month. Typically, the month gets about 84 mm of rain. Only 1032 and 1998 had wetter Octobers than this year with 177 and 172 mm, respectively.

The year so far has been exceptionally sunny, getting 1,810 hours of sunshine to date. Typically, the Netherlands gets about 1,774 hours of sunshine in a year. October was a bit less sunny than typical, getting 111 hours of sunshine against the normal 120 hours.

November will start out cloudy with a few showers, though the afternoon should be dry in most places. The southerly wind will be moderate, and maximums will climb to between 13 degrees on the Wadden and 16 degrees in the southeast.

Thursday will see stormy autumn weather, with rain and a strong southerly wind. Along the coast, the wind may reach storm strength. Maximums will range between 12 and 14 degrees.

The stormy weather on Thursday is due to storm Ciaran (pronounced Keeran), which will cause strong winds and heavy downpours in England and France on Wednesday. But the storm will lose much of its strength before hitting the Netherlands on Thursday.

Storm Ciarán (spreek uit: Keeran) gaat donderdag ook in Nederland voor wind en regen zorgen. Onze weersverwachting vind je hier: https://t.co/iCDWd7mj6k #StormCiaran https://t.co/h5As31nMj0

— KNMI (@KNMI) October 30, 2023