Ever since we discovered we were moving to The Netherlands, the topic of weather has been a big one. People ask “doesn’t it rain all the time?” Honestly, during my first and so far only visit, which was in March, it was beautiful. It was sunny and dry, the temperature was perfect. But everyone knows, looks can be deceiving and I like data.
| Average Annual Temperature | Average Annual Precipitation | |
| Houston | 20.9°C (69.6°F) | 1,242 mm (48.9 inch) |
| Toronto | 8.7°C (47.7°F) | 845 mm (33.3 inch) |
| Vancouver | 9.5°C (49.2°F) | 2,351 mm (92.6 inch) |
| Wassenaar | 10.8°C (51.5°F) | 940 mm (37.0 inch) |
Interestingly, Wassenaar is not the coldest or the rainiest of all the places I have lived. We have been having lots of discussion about the lack of air conditioning. When we were making our must have list for housing, each of us got to pick one non-negotiable. The three items put forward were 10 minute of less bike ride to school, allowed dogs, and air conditioning. We soon realized the first two were easy, the third request was virtually impossible. But now I know why – they don’t get the sustained summer heat to justify air conditioning.
Weather Spark describes Wassenaar’s summers as comfortable and winters as cold. They note that over the year, the temperature typically varies from 34°F to 70°F and is rarely below 22°F or above 80°F.
One thing that virtually all of the weather data shows is that it is really windy. So I guess that also explains why people don’t carry umbrellas.
Red, White and Tulips 