Record set for sunniest spring ever; 300 more hours of sunshine than normal

With about one week left to go in meteorological spring, the Netherlands has set a new high mark for the sunniest spring since record-keeping began. This year the country has been blanketed with 713.4 hours of sunshine, breaking the record set in 2011 by about six minutes, said Weer.nl.

By this date, the country would normally have seen 415 hours of sunshine for the season. On average, the Netherlands gets about 517 hours of sunshine for the March 1 - May 31 spring period.

The rest of the week is also expected to be mostly sunny, right through the end of the month, said meteorological agency KNMI. It could lead to a record of about 780 hours of sun, said Weer.nl.

April was also the sunniest ever, and May could similarly set a new record. This year has also been on track to be one of the driest in the country's history, reported Nu.nl.