Climate and Average Weather in the Netherlands
The ocean affects the weather conditions in the Netherlands. With a temperate maritime climate summers are generally pleasant with very changeable periods, but excessively hot weather is rare. Rainfall is common throughout the year.
Winters can be quite cold and dark with the possibility of some snow. Around every 7 years it gets so cold that the canals in Amsterdam turn into a huge open air icerink. When the ice is around 15 cm's (6 in) thick the Elfstedentocht is organized. The Elfstedentocht is a tour skating event on natural ice, almost 200 kilometres (120 mi) long. It is held both as a speed skating competition and a leisure tour (with 16,000 skaters). It takes place in the north of the Netherlands in the province Friesland and leads past eleven beautiful historical towns. The tour is held at most once a year, sometimes on consecutive years, other times with gaps that may exceed 20 years. When the ice is suitable, the tour is announced and starts within 48 hours.
People in the Netherlands talk much about the weather, because of the unpredictability. Even if the weather seems nice and sunny in the morning, by the afternoon it might be raining again. Luckily almost every day cloudy skies remember of famous Dutch painters.
One of the best periods to visit the Netherlands is during spring from April until the end of June. The days become longer and the Dutch embrace the sun sitting on teracces and while enjoying the blooming flowerfields.
Interested in more detailed Weather and Climate information?
Please select the city below you wish to travel to, or the one closest to your destination. Each selected city will show you the following graphs:
1. Average minimum and maximum temperatures over the year
2. Average monthly precipitation over the year (rainfall, snow etc)
3. Average monthly hours of sunshine over the year
On certain pages we also offer other historical weather data like humidity, wind speed and water temperature.
