<p>According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Netherlands#Climate" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>*, April is the driest month in the Netherlands, with only 41.6mm rainfall on average, as opposed to neighbouring months March (57.8mm) and May (59.3mm). This difference (about 40% more) cannot be explained by the extra day; that's only about 3%. The same thing happens (I suppose) for Belgium; the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels#Climate" rel="nofollow noreferrer">monthly averages for Brussels</a> are 69.5 (March), 51.3 (April) and 65.1 (May). April is also the driest month in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_City#Climate" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Luxembourg</a> but not by that much.</p>
<p><sub>*: you have to click the 'show' link next to <strong>Climate data for De Bilt (1981–2010 averages), all KNMI locations (1901–2019 extremes), snowy days: (1971–2000 averages).</strong></sub></p>
<p>While there must be a month in the year with the lowest rainfall, I wouldn't expect such a dip; all other months in the first half of the year are in the 60-70mm range (when February is adjusted for its short length). A possible reason for April to be the lowest is that sea and land temperatures are about equal, but somewhere in the fall that happens too, and that's the rainiest period of the year here.</p>
<p>As for other areas in western Europe: for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_United_Kingdom#England" rel="nofollow noreferrer">England</a>, April and May are about equal (56.1 vs 57.2). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg#Climate" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hamburg, Germany</a> exhibits the same behaviour as the Benelux.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-15T06:35:47.850Z
The original source suggests a decline in hours with precipitation from April until August (which should be connected to changing circulation patterns out on the Atlantic due to summer heating), but since April is the coldest of the summer(y) months, it has the smallest amount of precipiation - though this is not more than an educated guess.
Erik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-13T12:17:42.583Z
With respect to the comparison to September, I would think that oceans (Northern Atlantic mainly) are a lot warmer in autumn entailing more evaporation and thus also more precipitation.
hschoell
<climate><precipitation>
Why is April the driest month (by far) in the Benelux?
Glorfindel
# Why is April the driest month (by far) in the Benelux?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-14)

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Netherlands#Climate)\*, April is the driest month in the Netherlands, with only 41.6mm rainfall on average, as opposed to neighbouring months March (57.8mm) and May (59.3mm). This difference (about 40% more) cannot be explained by the extra day; that's only about 3%. The same thing happens (I suppose) for Belgium; the [monthly averages for Brussels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels#Climate) are 69.5 (March), 51.3 (April) and 65.1 (May). April is also the driest month in [Luxembourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_City#Climate) but not by that much.

\*: you have to click the 'show' link next to **Climate data for De Bilt (1981–2010 averages), all KNMI locations (1901–2019 extremes), snowy days: (1971–2000 averages).**

While there must be a month in the year with the lowest rainfall, I wouldn't expect such a dip; all other months in the first half of the year are in the 60-70mm range (when February is adjusted for its short length). A possible reason for April to be the lowest is that sea and land temperatures are about equal, but somewhere in the fall that happens too, and that's the rainiest period of the year here.

As for other areas in western Europe: for [England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_United_Kingdom#England), April and May are about equal (56.1 vs 57.2). [Hamburg, Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg#Climate) exhibits the same behaviour as the Benelux.

**Tags:** climate, precipitation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The original source suggests a decline in hours with precipitation from April until August (which should be connected to changing circulation patterns out on the Atlantic due to summer heating), but since April is the coldest of the summer(y) months, it has the smallest amount of precipiation - though this is not more than an educated guess.  
> **username_2**: With respect to the comparison to September, I would think that oceans (Northern Atlantic mainly) are a lot warmer in autumn entailing more evaporation and thus also more precipitation.  

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## 0 answers

