Gilze and Rijen and Eindhoven are experiencing a heat wave. It is the third regional heat wave of this year, but the very first in September. That never happened before. Woensdrecht will probably follow on Saturday, where the other Brabant weather station is located.
You speak of a heat wave when it is 25 degrees for five days in a row, with at least 30 degrees on three days. It is the third time that there has been a regional heat wave in Brabant this summer. The first was in June and the second was a month later.
Longest regional heat wave
In June, that regional heat wave lasted no less than two weeks in the southeast. “That is really special,” says Wouter van Bernebeek, meteorologist at Weerplaza. “Never before has a regional heat wave lasted so long. The old record was nine days.”
“We have not had a single heat wave nationally this year,” weatherman Wouter continues. “During those series of warm days this year, the weather station in De Bilt always stuck at more than 29 degrees.”
Never before
This does not alter the fact that some regional records were broken this year. It is the third time that there has been a regional heat wave in the Netherlands. This was mainly in the south, center and east of the country. “That’s quite normal,” says the Weerplaza weatherman. “But never before has a heat wave been measured in September at a Brabant weather station.”
By the way, there has been a regional heat wave in September four times before this century, in other places in the country. The first was in 1919, followed by 1947. Then we had to wait until 1999 and 2016 followed. Until now, all regional heat waves have been in Limburg, Drenthe, Zeeland and Gelderland, but never before in Brabant.
Warmest September day
Although it is the first regional heat wave in our province, we have had warm days before in September. Many people remember 2016 when it reached 33.1 degrees in Eindhoven and Gilze-Rijen on September 13, a daily record.
In the meantime, the heat wave will continue here for a few more days. Temperatures will also rise to above thirty degrees this weekend. “There may be a thunderstorm on Monday into Tuesday,” the weatherman said. “But that will be very local and cause little inconvenience.”
READ ALSO:
Not autumn, but a heat wave: ‘It could even become tropical’
Brabant breaks heat record: 33 degrees in many places