Near-Record Sunshine
This spring the country, which has now had around 800 hours of sunshine, fell just short of the record 805 hours achieved last year. The average hours now are far above the long-term spring average, which stands at 567 hours. The KNMI has been monitoring hours of sunshine since 1965.

High-pressure continued to be the dominant weather feature bringing clear skies and long sunny periods. If the days tend to be mild, the clear sky allowed for frequent cooling at night, especially during the month of March.

Exceptionally Dry Season
Nationwide, only 70 millimeters of rain fell, far below the long-term average of 148 millimeters.

This left it as the third-driest spring since 1906. Drier springs were observed in 1976 and 2011 with 61 and 49 mm of rain, respectively.

• March marked a record of aridity with only 6 mm of precipitation (multi year average: 53 mm).
  
  

• April recorded 30 mm of rainfall (normal: 40 mm).

• May saw 35 mm rain (average: 55 mm).

Consequently, the precipitation shortage amounted to 125 mm at the end of spring.

This makes the early growing season the driest 5 percent in the recorded history of t.