Amsterdam
Long-term averages for Amsterdam: the mean daily high, the mean overnight low and the mean monthly rainfall across 30 years of ERA5 reanalysis data (1995–2024).
Show the monthly table
| Month | Day (°C) | Night (°C) | Rain (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6 | 2 | 68 |
| February | 7 | 2 | 62 |
| March | 9 | 3 | 56 |
| April | 13 | 6 | 53 |
| May | 16 | 9 | 69 |
| June | 19 | 12 | 70 |
| July | 21 | 14 | 86 |
| August | 21 | 15 | 83 |
| September | 18 | 12 | 68 |
| October | 14 | 9 | 76 |
| November | 10 | 5 | 67 |
| December | 6 | 3 | 73 |
What the numbers mean for a trip
There is no dry season - rain is spread across all twelve months, 53-86 mm each. Summers are mild rather than hot at 19-21 °C, and winters hover a few degrees above freezing.
- No dry month exists. Every month averages between 53 and 86 mm, so the useful question is not whether it will rain but whether you will be outside when it does.
- July and August are the wettest months (86 and 83 mm) as well as the warmest - Dutch summer rain arrives as showers, not as a season.
- Summer is mild, not hot: mean highs of 19-21 °C in June, July and August, with nights of 12-15 °C. An evening on a terrace needs a layer.
- Winter sits just above freezing - 6-7 °C by day, 2-3 °C at night - so it is rarely icy and almost always grey and damp.
- April and May are the sweet spot: 13-16 °C, the lowest rainfall of the year, and the tulip season.
Rain is a constant, not a season
The Amsterdam table has no dry month in it. The lowest average is April at 53 mm, the highest July at 86 mm, and the difference between them is smaller than the difference between two rainy weeks anywhere. That is the single most useful thing to know about weather here: you cannot plan around the rain, so plan with it.
In practice that means a jacket rather than an umbrella - the rain usually comes sideways off the North Sea, and umbrellas lose that argument. It also means the country is built for it: cafés, museums and covered markets are the fabric of a Dutch city, not the fallback.
Choosing a month
| Period | Day | Night | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| April-May | 13-16 °C | 6-9 °C | Driest of the year, long light evenings, tulips |
| June-August | 19-21 °C | 12-15 °C | Warmest and wettest, terraces and festivals |
| September-October | 14-18 °C | 9-12 °C | Mild, quieter, reliably damp |
| November-March | 6-10 °C | 2-5 °C | Grey, short days, rarely freezing hard |
Cycling is the reason the numbers matter. Getting around a Dutch city means being outside for twenty minutes at a time, and 8 °C with wind and drizzle is a different experience from 8 °C in still air. Layers and something windproof do more here than a heavy coat.
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