July has been a month of extreme weather conditions, ranging from a heatwave to ground frost and a major storm.

The average temperature this month was 18.4 degrees, compared with 17.9 degrees in a ‘normal July’.

The sun shone for 220 hours, above the average 203 hours, and there was more rain – 90 milimetres compared with 78. It was particularly wet in Groningen and Drenthe, the Telegraaf reports.

The hottest day of the month was July 2 when it hit 38.2 degrees in Maastricht, just below the all-time record.

But by July 10, the temperature had plunged again and there was even ground frost in Twente.

Saturday’s storm was also extreme, with winds of up to 121 kph battering coastal areas. This made it the most serious July storm ever to hit the Netherlands, weather bureau Weeronline says.