In stark contrast with last July, which was the driest in Belgium since 1885, this July had the highest number of rain days in 35 years.
It has been hard to ignore the bad weather in Belgium in recent weeks. In July last year, the country was baking in the heat and experienced the driest month since 1885 – barely 5 mm of rain was recorded, compared to 3 mm in 1885 and down from the normal average for July, 70 mm. However, the rain did not stop last month.
A total of 21 rainfall days were recorded at the Royal Meteorological Institute's (RMI) reference station in Uccle over the last month. This is the highest number in 35 years, the RMI's monthly overview showed.
A total of 113.2 mm of precipitation fell across the entire month up from the average of 76.9 mm of rain expected in the month.
The last ten days of July saw particularly high levels of precipitation. For instance, Uccle recorded 91.4 mm of precipitation, more than triple the normal 27.7 mm. Throughout the final day of July, rain continued to fall, with some areas experiencing heavy showers.
No exception
The month may have seemed gloomier and wetter than usual to many as we have become accustomed to drier, hotter days. However, weather reporter David Dehenauw told VRT News that the high number of rainy days are actually not that exceptional for Belgium, even for the summertime. "July 2023 will not even make it into the top 20 July months with the most rainy days," he said.
According to the RMI, July is on average the wettest month of the year, especially in central and southern Belgium. The normal monthly precipitation levels vary from 50 mm at the coast to 130 mm on the highest peaks of the Ardennes. During the summer of 2021 – the wettest year in Belgian history – over 166 mm of precipitation was recorded in Uccle.
However, the number of rainy days is remarkably high: 21, compared to 14.3 normally expected during this month. The absolute record was set in 1936 when it rained no fewer than 29 days in July.
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The average temperature remained fairly normal at 18.4°C: the long-term average for Uccle in July is just slightly higher, at 18.7°C. July is on average the warmest month of the year inland according to the RMI, with normal monthly values of maximum temperatures ranging between 18°C and 23°C and minimum temperatures between 9°C and 13°C.
"Sometimes it can get very hot with maxima above 35°C. But very low maxima can also occur: on 12 July 1930 the maximum in Uccle was only 12.7°C, a value sometimes recorded in winter," the agency noted on its website.
July was not only wet and cold but also rather gloomy: a total of around 185 hours of sunshine were recorded up to and including Monday, compared to more than 203 hours normally. For the fifth time since 1981, not a single day with clear skies was recorded. The last time was in 2009.
