It is a regular conversation point to talk about the weather and now it seems there is a very good reason to do so. According to the national weather service, the KNMI, this summer was the wettest summer in the Netherlands since 1906.

If your summer BBQ was rained out, it was probably because of the 350 millimetres of rain, 100mm more than usual, that fell around the country. And if you were outside in July then you really did need an umbrella as July topped the list as the rainiest summer month. The most rain fell in the central and western parts of the country. In particular, the KNMI station in Deelen op de Veluwe measured 225mm of rain. If you lived in Vlissingen, then you were lucky as your town was the driest with just 252mm of rainfall.

In contrast to the unusually wet summer, this spring was the driest spring in the last century, with an average rainfall of 49mm, compared to the usual 172mm.

As we head into the colder months of the year, the adjustment to the colder temperatures shouldn’t be too harsh as the average temperature for the summer was a chilly 16.3 degrees Celsius. And if you were one of those individuals thinking that there was less sun than usual, then you were right. This summer we had only 525 hours of sunshine, 83 hours less than average. I hope you used them wisely!

Now we are left to wonder what is in store weather wise for autumn and winter. So that you can join in on those weather conversations, here are some weather related vocabulary and phrases for you:

• Het regent pijpenstelen. (It’s raining cats and dogs.)
• Het dondert en bliksemt. (There’s thunder and lightning.)
• Het onweert. (There’s a thunderstorm.)
• Het stormt vreselijk. (It’s terribly stormy.)
• Het waait. (It’s windy.)
• De zon breekt door. (The sun is breaking through.)
• Wat voor weer is het nu? (What’s the weather like now?)
• Heb je het weerbericht voor het weekend gehoord? (Have you heard the weather report for the weekend?)
• Het is een mooie dag. (It’s a beautiful day.)
• Het is zoning. (It’s sunny.)
• Het is heet. (It’s hot.)
• Het is koud. (It’s cold.)
• Het is guur weer vandaag. (The weather is bleak/raw/bitter today.)
• Het regent. (It’s raining)