sunshine

As of Tuesday morning the year 2018 is officially the sunniest year ever measured in the Netherlands, Weerplaza said on Thursday. With over 2,022 hours of sunshine, 2003's record of 2,021 hours and 40 minutes is officially broken.

This is only the second time ever since measurements started in 1901 that the Netherlands had over 2 thousand hours of sunshine in a year. On average the Netherlands gets around 1,600 hours of sunshine per year. 

This week will be sunny and warm in the Netherlands, with temperatures expected to climb up to 25 degrees during the course of the week. Such high temperatures this late in the year are "quite exceptional", according to Weerplaza. A number of weather records stand to be broken.

The warm temperatures are brought by hot air from the Mediterranean region, according to Weeronline. On Wednesday and Thursday temperatures will rise to 20 degrees on the Wadden islands  and along the coast, 24 degrees inland, and even 26 degrees in Zuid-Limburg.

While the Netherlands can expect more rain and thunderstorms over the coming days, the weather should clear up to sunshine by the weekend, according to Buienradar.

The south of the country saw a lot of rain on Tuesday, and the showers will keep falling for the rest of the week. "But that drizzly weather is slowing pulling away through the south", Jennifer Faber of Buienradar said to RTL Nieuws. "There is not a lot of wind, so that's why the showers sometimes stay above a place for a long time."

The Netherlands can look forward to warm and sunny weather next week. Some places may even see the first summer day of the year on Wednesday, with maximum temperatures above 25 degrees, Buienradar expects.

"The barbecue can be turned on and summer clothes taken out", Nicolien Kroon of Buienradar said to RTL Nieuws. "We can almost call it summer, with temperatures rising to locally 25 degrees in the interior from Wednesday! The sun shines brightly, so it's perfect weather to be outside."

Friday and the weekend will be foggy, with occasional sunshine and some showers, meteorological institute KNMI expects.

People almost everywhere in the Netherlands woke up to thick fog on Friday morning. The fog started dissipating during the course of the morning, and should be completely gone by early afternoon, the KNMI expects. A few areas may see some sunshine this afternoon, and there may be some rain inland. Maximum temperatures will rise to around 8 degrees.

Meteorological autumn in the Netherlands is starting out cool and partly cloudy with a good chance of some showers, according to Weeronline. From Sunday the weather will turn dryer, sunnier and warmer for a few days, the weather service expects.

A whole range of weather conditions is expected on King's Day in the Netherlands on Thursday. Weerplaza predicts a chance of rain showers, hail and thunderstorms, as well as blue skies and sunshine. 

According to the weather agency, the weather will vary greatly from place to place. One province may have thunderstorms, while the next one has sunshine. But the entire country can expect afternoon temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius or lower. 

Many Amsterdam residents were woken up by storms rolling through the city early on Tuesday morning. These early morning storms seem to be the signal for cool, rainy days ahead for the Netherlands.

With maximum temperatures around 13 degrees expected today, Pinkstermaandag will be slightly warmer than the first day of Pentecost, which was the coldest in 80 years, according to Weeronline.

The 14 Liberation Day festivals in the Netherlands on Thursday drew a record number of over a million people, according to the police. The most visited festivals were in Groningen, Zwolle, Wageningen and Haarlem.

After a massively cold night last night, with temperatures dipping to -4.1 degrees in Noord-Brabant, the end of the cold weather seems to be in sight. Temperatures will start rising this weekend and next week will be more pleasant at between 13 and 17 degrees, according to Weeronline.