This article is classified "Real"
When trying to understand the Dutch weather, one first has to know where
the Netherlands are located. A map quickly shows that it lies halfway up
Europe, and borders Belgium, Germany and the North Sea. Well, you could
say that Great Britain and, say, Norway, are also neighbours, if you
disregard the water, but then again, Denmark, Iceland, the Arctic, the
Antarctic and the rest of the world would also border it, which is a nice
thought.
Anyway, the climate is maritime, not continental. What you have a lot of
in this flat country is wind. Dress for it! I always get this terrible
ear-ache when fighting this wind on my bike. Another thing we have quite a
lot of, is rain. You really need a water-proof jacket, as the combination
of rain and wind makes an umbrella a bit impractical, except for umbrella
salespeople. Nonetheless, many people try protecting themselves with one
anyway. Holland has a bit of a reputation for rain, but it is somewhat
exaggerated. It doesn't rain all the time (I can't remember the exact
statistical data).
Summers are moderate, as are the winters. Mostly. Summers sometimes have
days where the mercury reaches 30 degrees Celsius, but 20-25 degrees is
more common. A good summer has periods of about four days of great
weather, and then one or two days of thunderstorms. The air freshens up
after that, unlike other parts of the world, which then resemble saunas.
Bad summers are simply depressing: an overcast of clouds, 18 degrees, and
a slight drizzle. You have equal chances of both types. Warm weather
makes you a little sticky, as there is some humidity, but not so much that
you want to stay locked in one room with an air conditioner (and catch a
cold).
Winters are sometimes pretty cold, with a bit of snow and all our water
ways frozen over and people skating everywhere. A really great winter for
the Dutch involves such a cold that we can skate the eleven city tour (de
elfstedentocht). That takes place in the province of Friesland, which has
many lakes and canals to freeze up, and you pass, you guessed it, eleven
cities during the 200 km long tour. It takes place about twice every ten
years (often in succession), if my memory serves me well. Temperatures
then go down to, on average, -10 degrees [1].
Ordinary winters have temperatures ranging from 10 to -5 degrees, but we
have adopted the notion of "gevoelstemperatuur", or "wind chill factor",
which people in countries with continental climates are very familiar with.
It involves the force of the wind, which often makes it feel a lot colder
than it is [2], giving us the extremes we like to complain about.
Waterproof clothing is the best in most occasions.
In between we have autumns with, guess, lots of rain and wind, and springs
with, let's see, lots of rain and wind. Nooo, it's not all that bad;
especially in spring we often have a week of early summer, when people take
their clothes off to absorb some sun, and get a severe cold as a side
effect. We do cherish the warm days... except when it lasts too long: most
of us can't stand that [3]. And always remember, also when reading this
article: we really love to complain.
Estimated average temperatures: 5-18 degrees, hovering somewhere in the
middle. But, of course, it can always be better, or worse; we may get
lucky and have a warm September. You don't want to wear your woolly
mammoth disguise then.
Summary. Best things to take with you to the Netherlands are a water-proof
jacket, and the rest is optional, depending on the kind of crowd you like
to meet. The average person wears long jeans, a t-shirt and some kind of
sweater, and a variety of shoes (not all at once). However, I'd like to
encourage people to wear little clothing: shorts (hot pants, mini skirts
etc.) and short tops, though entirely for selfish reasons ;-). [4]
[1] All averages mentioned come from estimations based on my memory. I
still plan to write an article about my memory...
[2] The more wind there is, the faster we loose our warmth through our
skin, the colder it feels.
[3] Present company excluded: a year with only summer days above 30
degrees suits me fine.
[4] The weather prediction for the next five days in the Netherlands
can be found at http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/tt/nos/page/m/704 :
probabilities of seeing some sun, rain, and the temperature extremes
and wind force.