March 2025 will go down in the record books as the sunniest and driest on record, weather forecasters say.

The sun shone for a total of 248 hours at the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht, where national records are kept, slightly surpassing the previous record set in 2022. This is almost 100 hours more than the average for March.

The Wadden Sea island of Terschelling was the sunniest location in the country, with 273 hours of sunshine.

Just five millimetres of rain were recorded nationwide, compared with 56 millimetres in a typical March. Friesland was the wettest region, with 45 millimetres. It was also warmer than usual, with an average temperature of 7.1°, compared with 6.5°, Weeronline said.

April is set to continue in the same vein, with a mix of sunshine and cloud to start the week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are expected to be particularly bright and sunny, with temperatures rising to 17°.

The KNMI’s long-range forecast also points to continued mild weather, albeit with less sunshine.