Den Helder tops the sunshine league, and winter is on its way

Photo: DutchNews.nl
Photo: DutchNews.nl

Den Helder in Noord Holland will be the sunniest place in the country in 2022, having enjoyed over 2,300 hours of sunshine so far, according to calculations by weather bureau Weerplaza.nl.

The previous Den Helder record of 2,194 hours dates from 2003.

In Vlissingen, in Zeeland, the sunshine will also break new records, with the local weather station likely to record around 2,350 hours of sunshine by the end of the year, Weerplaza said.

The 2003 nationwide record of 2,099.5 hours of sunshine was broken on November 8 and is set to top 2,200 by the end of December. In an average year, the sun shines for 1,773 hours.

As well as being sunny, autumn 2022 is also notable for the lack of gales, RTL reported at the weekend.

Climate change has reduced temperature differences which means‘in the past few years, we have had fewer noteworthy storms,’ RTL weatherman Marc de Jong said.

The meteorological winter begins this week and with it will come a sharp drop in temperatures.

The KNMI predicts night frosts by the end of the week and says there is a 70% to 80% chance that temperatures of well below average for the time of year, will continue deep into December.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation