It’s gotten to that point where we’re getting all misty-eyed and reminiscing on the events of 2019. But maybe not too misty-eyed – gotta save that water, because 2019 was the third-hottest year in the history of the Netherlands, after all.
It was also a year of bizarre weather events. Who can forget the heatwave of 2019’s summer? (Although we really want to forget sweating in front of the fan in our underpants, because that just was not attractive). 2019’s average temperature was 11.2 degrees. That may sound surprisingly low – but the average is 10.1, Weeronline told NOS. That climate crisis, right?
Over the summer, the Netherlands smashed the 75-year-old national heat record not once, but twice. The former high of 38.6 degrees got blown out of the water on July 24 when the mercury jumped to 39.3 degrees – and then a day later surpassed 40 degrees in five different provinces. Let’s be clear; those aren’t records we want to break – the extreme heat caused an estimated 400 extra deaths over the month.
On the other end of the scale, there was one day that was the coldest in the year: October 6 was just a bit chillier than normal. However, fourteen days were warmer than the same date in previous years.
The weird and wonderful weather gave rise to a surprising number of different natural events, like these shining night clouds in late June:
Wow wat een indrukwekkend natuurverschijnsel in de betuwe rond 0.30 uur vannacht, dit was absoluut de moeite waard om te bekijken #lichtendenachtwolken #TimeLapse @OmroepGLD @BuienRadarNL @Lingestreek @MeteoGroupWeer @BuitenGewoonGLD @helgavanleur @WilliamHuizinga pic.twitter.com/rXFLYuQ8MN
— Chris Biesheuvel (@ChrisBFH) June 13, 2019
Small ice crystals formed on dust particles high in the atmosphere, and then got spectacularly illuminated by the horizon behind – glorious, right?
Despite a slightly higher than average rainfall for the year, large parts of the Netherlands continue to suffer from drought. Start your rain dances, because we need steady rain for months to raise groundwater levels and repair our dried soil.
What did you think of the weather of 2019? Did it live up to the Netherland’s rainy reputation, or was a it a tad too boiling hot? Let us know in the comments below!
Feature Image: Pixabay/Pexels