Another chilly King’s Day

The weather is rarely good on King’s Day, a national holiday that coincides with monarch Willem-Alexander’s birthday on April 27.

In contrast, people remember that Queen’s Day, which honoured Willem-Alexander’s mother Beatrix on April 30 until she abdicated in his favour in 2013, was invariably warmer and sunnier.

Roosmarijn Knol, weather forecaster for the national broadcaster NOS, recently studied records to verify whether this was an urban myth. To her surprise, she found that the three-day difference did, in fact, make a difference.

“I have come to the surprising conclusion there is some truth in that feeling,” Knol said. “If you look at the statistics, there is a difference of one degree Celsius between the two dates. On April 27 it’s 15 degrees on average and on the 30th it’s 16. And it also rains more on the 26.”

The warmest Queen’s Day reached 27 degrees, seven degrees more the 20 degree, King’s Day record set in 2020.

It was difficult to explain, Knol continued.  It could be that April 27 was slightly closer to winter and it was also important to take climate change into account, she suggested.

“But there is no single cause,” the presenter said,  as she correctly predicted highs of 15 degrees for King’s Day 2024.