Now that we can move around a bit more and the terraces beckon, the weather is not really helping the catering industry this time. The KNMI has issued spring grills and code yellow on Mother's Day. In the western coastal provinces and in the Wadden area, showers can occur with hail and heavy gusts of wind up to approximately 75 kilometers per hour. In the evening the showers move north along the west coast. According to Matthijs van de Linden of Weeronline, Ascension Day is also subject to spring whims this year.
"Most official Dutch holidays fall in the spring, which means that the weather can really go in all directions. This certainly applies to Ascension Day. The difference between a cold north wind and a warm south wind is huge."
Warm Ascension Days in the minority
Since 1901 it was 27,5 degrees or more in De Bilt on only 20% of the Ascension days and the temperature remained below 33 degrees on no less than 15% of the days. Rain also fell on 55% of the Ascension days, although this was only slightly on 15% of all Ascension days. On the coldest Ascension Day ever measured it only became 9,2 degrees. That record cold day was not that long ago: May 13, 2010. It has never been tropically warm, but since 1901 it has become six times summer hot with maximums of 25 degrees or more on Ascension Day in De Bilt. Last year was the last time. It was record warm in 1954 with 29,2 degrees.
snow exceptional
Yannick Dame (Weeronline) indicates that wet snow is best in May rare is, but that the snow really stays there is very special. The last day after winter in De Bilt with a snow cover is May 4. That happened in 1978. In De Bilt, the last wet snowflakes were observed on May 17, 1935. In other parts of the Netherlands, wet snow was observed even a little later in the spring. For example, on May 23, 2013, snowflakes still fluttered down in Stavoren and Lelystad.
There was a lot of snow on May 5, 1957. At that time a deck of no less than 15 centimeters was created on the Vaalserberg! Recently, on May 4, 2019, the Vaalserberg also turned white, but then it was only a thin layer of snow. Due to its high elevation, snow cover on the highest hills of Limburg is more common during spring grills than in the rest of the country. It is therefore very special that snow still falls in the low parts of the Netherlands so far in the spring!
Also read: Terrace open for wine, beer and the chirping of town sparrows
