Hottest July 2 on record; Code orange for thunderstorms in southeast

Wednesday marks the hottest July 2 ever in the Netherlands. At 1:30 p.m., the temperature at the weather measuring station De Bilt rose to 33.7 degrees Celsius, breaking the previous record of 33.6 degrees set in 2010. It is the second day in a row that a heat record has been broken. This comes as the KNMI has issued a code orange warning for the provinces of Overijssel, Gelderland, Limburg, Groningen, and Drenthe due to severe thunderstorms.

The warning will apply from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Limburg and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Overijssel and Gelderland. A code yellow warning has been issued for the provinces of Noord-Brabant, Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Utrecht, and Flevoland due to the expected thunderstorms.

The highest temperature was recorded in the afternoon in Maastricht, where it reached 38.7 degrees. Never before on July 2 has the temperature locally exceeded that value. The previous record dated from 2015, when Maastricht reached 38.2 degrees. Earlier in the day, it was already confirmed that this is the first official heatwave since August 2022.

Despite this, the border regions are expected to experience a lot of rain, a for KNMI spokesperson said. Hailstones the size of three centimeters can fall there, the KNMI warned. In addition to severe thunderstorms, there is also a risk of very strong wind gusts between 75 and 100 kilometers per hour and heavy rainfall in a short period of time.

The storms could develop quickly. The weather is expected to cause a nuisance for traffic, and activities that take place outside, like watersports and events. The lightning strikes could result in fires and damage.

A code orange has also been issued in Gelderland, Noord-Brabant, and Limburg before the storms hit due to the hot weather. Inland, temperatures will reach tropical levels, with highs of 35 to 37 degrees Celsius in the southeast and east.

On Wednesday afternoon and evening, temperatures will first cool down in the west and later in the east as well. The showers are expected to move into Germany in the evening.

The hot weather in the last few days has resulted in the first official heat wave in the Netherlands since August 2022, Weeronline reported.

At 11:20 a.m., a temperature of 30.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at the main weather station in De Bilt, officially marking a heatwave. It is the fifth consecutive day that temperatures in De Bilt have risen above 25 degrees Celsius.

On Tuesday, the first regional heatwave was recorded in Eindhoven. A heatwave is defined as a period of at least five consecutive days with maximum temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius, including three tropical days of 30 degrees Celsius or more. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, temperatures rose to tropical levels.

The heatwave will be short-lived. On Thursday, temperatures are not expected to exceed 23 degrees Celsius. The longest official heatwave on record lasted eighteen days, in 1975.

This is the 31st heatwave recorded in De Bilt since measurements began in 1901. A total of 16 of those occurred in the previous century, and 15 have taken place since the year 2000.