Mild winter, despite multiple snow storms; Above-average temps continue in days to come
“It might not feel like it, but the winter of 2025-2026 was mild,” Weeronline reported on Thursday. Despite several snowstorms, a weather alarm, and eight code orange warnings, the average temperature was 4.8 degrees, compared to the typical 4.1 degrees Celsius. The last days of winter are exceptionally mild, and the double-digit temperatures will continue into the first days of spring.
The highest temperature recorded at the national weather station in De Bilt this winter was yesterday, when thermometers climbed to 17.3 degrees Celsius. This marked the first official spring day. The lowest temperature recorded in De Bilt was -9.5 degrees Celsius on January 11.
In De Bilt, the winter had a total of 31 days of frost, with temperatures dipping below 0 degrees. Five of those days had “moderate frost,” with temps below -5 degrees, compared to the typical eight. Temperatures never dipped below -10, where De Bilt usually gets “severe frost” once a winter.
It was noticeably colder in the north and the east this winter. Eelde and Hoogeveen recorded 45 days of frost, Nieuw Beerta had 44, Heino had 43, and Twente had 42. In contrast, Vlissingen only saw temperatures drop below freezing on 10 days this winter.
In De Bilt, there were two ice days, where thermometers did not climb above 0 degrees at all, compared to the typical five. Nieuw-Beerta in Groningen had 10 ice days, and Eelde and Hoogeveen had nine. Vlissingen did not have a single ice day. The last ice day there was in January 2024.
Despite the large amounts of snow that fell, the winter was very dry. An average of 154 mm of precipitation fell across the country, compared to the typical 225 mm. January had a typical precipitation total, but December and February were “clearly too dry,” Weeronline said.
Precipitation in January often fell as snow. The first snowfall started on New Year’s Day and continued every day for nearly two weeks. “The thaw didn’t really set in until January 12.” There were also snowstorms early in February and again in mid-February.
“With all these wintery situations, a code orange warning for icy conditions was issued no fewer than eight times, lasting a total of 11 days,” Weeronline said. One of these warnings was also escalated to a code red weather alarm. For comparison, the KNMI issued five code orange warnings throughout 2025 and nine throughout 2024.
Once the last snow fell around February 19, temperatures started to rise and are now comfortably in the double digits. The mild weather is set to continue for some time yet, according to Weeronline.
Thursday won’t be as sunny as Wednesday was, but temperatures will still reach 15 to 18 degrees inland. The coast will have more clouds, and it will be a bit cooler. Friday and Saturday will see some occasional rain. “From Sunday onwards, it will be dry for a longer period with plenty of sunshine. Highs will remain in the double digits,” Weeronline said.
