Record broken: Hottest April 19th in Netherlands history

Today is not only the fist official summer day of the year, but also the hottest April 19th in the Netherlands since temperature measurements started in 1901, Weeronline reports.

At 12:30 p.m. it was 24.4 degrees in De Bilt, breaking the previous heat record of 24.3 degrees from 1988. At 2:00 p.m. the thermometer in De Bilt read 25.1 degrees, making today the first official summers day - with temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius - for the Netherlands this year.

So far Lelystad is the hottest place in the Netherlands today, with temperatures measuring at 28.5 degrees. With that the day record for all weather stations for April 19th is also broken. That record stood at 25.2 degrees, measured in Volkel in 1988 and in Eindhoven in 2011.

Temperatures are expected to continue climbing through the afternoon. If the thermometers climb past 30 degrees, today will also be the earliest local tropical day ever in the Netherlands. Currently that record stands at April 21st, 1968, when it was 30.5 degrees in Venlo and even 32.2 degrees in Gemert.