The past year was full of weather extremes. One heat record after another was broken, and certainly not only during the summer months. The heavy rainfall also caused quite a bit of flooding. Weatherman Johnny Willemsen from Weerplaza looks back with us on the past year. “The year was mainly mild, wet and gloomy.”
The fact that 2024 was warm is evident from the weather records that were broken. That started early in the year: it was never so warm on February 15. It was then 17.9 degrees in Woensdrecht. Heat records were also set in October and November.
READ ALSO: Warmest February 15 ever measured in Brabant: 66-year-old record broken
More heat than cold records
“Comparatively, we had 8 times more heat records than cold records last year,” says Willemsen. “That is of course a direct consequence of climate change.” Willemsen emphasizes that cold weather is not impossible. “We could certainly still get snow and ice. The record heats are just happening more often.”
You could also tell that the weather was more extreme from the flooding. Code orange was issued twice in August, which was accompanied by heavy downpours. Remarkably, it has not rained more this year than in other years. “What we do see is that the extremes have become more extreme. The peaks and valleys are greater. For example, at some times more rain falls than usual or it is very dry for a long time,” says Willemsen.
Lots of flooding
According to Willemsen, these heavy downpours can be explained by the rising temperature. “More heat means more moisture in the air, which causes more precipitation,” the weatherman explains. In May, July and August, many places in Brabant suffered from heavy rainfall.
READ ALSO: Major flooding due to heavy rain, supermarket has to close
According to Willemsen, the year can be summarized a bit like the weather of the last few weeks: “Soft, wet and gloomy,” says Willemsen. The particularly gray days of recent times certainly don’t help. “It’s not much to write home about.”
Gray and gloomy
Will 2025 be much different than 2024? The weatherman doesn’t want to get that far ahead of himself. Fortunately, he still has the weather report for this Saturday: “Again, a lot of grayness and it will not be warmer than 2 or 4 degrees. This morning it was still freezing in many places in Brabant with a temperature that fluctuates between 0 and -1. Tonight is also there is a chance of fog and mist again.” The last days of 2024 will therefore remain gray and gloomy.
YOU MAY ALSO FIND THIS INTERESTING: This is the weather forecast for New Year’s Eve