September is here, and as people return to work after the holidays and kids go back to school, summer is slowly approaching its end here in the Netherlands. One might be forgiven for thinking the Netherlands had skipped summer altogether, as the past few weeks have been disappointingly grey and rainy, but what are the odds the country could see a burst of summer weather this month?

September weather in the Netherlands

Meteorologists at WeerOnline are warning the public not to bank on a late surge of sunshine, and expect this September to be a fairly typical one: regular rain showers, grey skies, and relatively cool temperatures are on the horizon. On a more positive note, there could be a couple of nice days where temperatures rise to 25 degrees in some parts of the country, but generally speaking, get ready for temperatures ranging from 17 to 21 degrees. 

This weekend will serve as a small pick-me-up to those already dreading the cold and wet autumn months ahead. Saturday will start off grey and foggy, but the sky is set to clear up for most of the country, bringing with it blue skies and sunshine. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague can expect temperatures of between 20 and 23 degrees.

Luckily for the Zandvoort GP, Sunday is looking even better, with temperatures reaching as high as 25 degrees in Maastricht and Eindhoven. No rain is on the cards, so get ready to enjoy what is set to be one of the last days of summer this year. Next week starts off okay, but as the week progresses the chance of storms and rain increases and the temperature will gradually drop, dipping to below 20 degrees in the Randstad. 

A typical Dutch summer: Rain, grey skies, and cool temperatures

With August coming to an end this week, the start of September has also brought the end of the meteorological summer. Those who have moved to the Netherlands from warmer countries will be shocked to hear July and August had an average temperature of 17,7 degrees - but will be even more shocked to hear that this is actually 0,2 degrees above average!

The Dutch Weather Institute (KNMI) and meteorologists across the country have emphasised that, while this year may have felt like an exceptionally bad summer, it was actually fairly typical weather for the Netherlands. The summers the country has experienced over the last three years were uncharacteristically hot. 

June may have been the hottest June on record, bringing the country’s only tropical day of the season, but July was dominated by heavy rainfall and flooding. August wasn’t much better, with relatively little sunshine especially in the northern parts of the country. In total, summer 2021 brought the Netherlands only 620 hours of sunshine, 20 hours less than average.