July 2023 was wetter than most but the temperatures and amount of sunshine were only slightly lower than average, weather bureau KNMI said on Tuesday.

It rained nearly every day last month – taking the total rainfall to 98 millimetres, 20 more than in an average year. In total, rain fell for 55 hours, up from the “normal” 40, with the northeast and east particularly affected.

The average temperature, however, was 18.1°, which is almost in line with the summer average of 18.3°, while the sun shone for 213 hours, just seven below normal sunshine rates for the time of year.

Storm Poly at the beginning of the month brought winds of up to 146 kph, making it the strongest summer storm since records began in 1901. Since then, the KNMI said, the Netherlands has been caught up in an “Atlantic depression”.

There is little change on the way in the coming days, and the KNMI says there is an 80% chance that the changeable weather will continue well into August.

The wet Dutch July was in sharp contrast to the southern part of Europe, which was plagued by record high temperatures, forest fires, and huge storms.

Now that the official travel advice for the larger Greek holiday islands has been lifted, and the fires are under control, there has been a run on last-minute sun breaks, the Telegraaf said on Tuesday.

Tour operator Tui told the paper that Curaçao, Bonaire, the Dutch Caribbean islands and Turkey offer the best bet for late bookers, while Sunweb says bookings are now up 40% compared with two weeks ago.