Climate and average weather in Den Helder

In Den Helder, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, windy, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late June to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Den Helder typically varies from 4°C to 19°C, and is rarely below -0°C or above 22°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while February is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Den Helder for warm-weather activities is from late June to mid September.

Hottest
Aug
19°
Coldest
Feb
Wettest
Oct
105 mm
Driest
Apr
38 mm
Rain / yr
869 mm
150 wet days
Daylight
7.3–16.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
3 m
53.0°N
Clearest
Jul
57% cloud

Den Helder is city in the Netherlands.

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Den Helder weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late June to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Den Helder, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.4 months, from June 19 to September 30, with daily high temperatures above 16°C. The hottest month of the year in Den Helder is August, with an average high of 19°C and low of 17°C.

The cool season lasts 3.9 months, from December 6 to April 3, with daily high temperatures below 8°C. The coldest month of the year in Den Helder is February, with an average low of 4°C and high of 6°C.

Days typically run about 2°C warmer than nights year-round.

-5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan64
Feb64
Mar75
Apr97
May1311
Jun1514
Jul1816
Aug1917
Sep1715
Oct1412
Nov108
Dec86

How hot and cold Den Helder really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -2°C (around January 30), with roughly 79 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan66-14
Feb66-24
Mar7705
Apr9947
May13131011
Jun15151414
Jul18181616
Aug19191717
Sep17171515
Oct14141212
Nov101048
Dec8816

Average hourly temperature in Den Helder

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 19°C, and coldest before dawn in February, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Den Helder weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 73140.87.90.5
Feb / 5511.11.49.50.3
Mar / 4910.80.611.50.9
Apr / 388.2013.62.1
May13° / 11°509.3015.53.5
Jun15° / 14°5910.4016.64.6
Jul18° / 16°7111.5016.25.7
Aug19° / 17°9513.1014.55.7
Sep17° / 15°9613.7012.44.9
Oct14° / 12°10515.2010.33.4
Nov10° / 9316.60.28.42.0
Dec / 8815.60.77.41.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Den Helder gets about 869 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from around Aug 14 to Jan 29, peaking in November at about 58% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Apr 15.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 105 mm over about 15 wet days; April is the driest, with 38 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 9 · 58%Apr 15 · 26%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4514
Feb4011
Mar3511
Apr278
May309
Jun3510
Jul3712
Aug4213
Sep4714
Oct5015
Nov5517
Dec5016

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Den Helder collects about 869 mm of rain across 150 wet days — roughly 72 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 105 mm, while April is the driest at just 38 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec7355493850597195961059388
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan73141
Feb55111
Mar49111
Apr3880
May5090
Jun59100
Jul71120
Aug95130
Sep96140
Oct105150
Nov93170
Dec88161

Snow in Den Helder

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Den Helder averages about 4 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 29 to Mar 18 — about 3.6 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.5 day of snow and an estimated 6 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 12 cm of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 9
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan12
Feb16
Mar11
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec13

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Den Helder, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around March 21 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around September 20. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 51% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 21 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 20. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 73% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 29 · 55%Nov 27 · 26%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2773
Feb3169
Mar3862
Apr4852
May4951
Jun4555
Jul5149
Aug5149
Sep4159
Oct3367
Nov2872
Dec2872

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 18, brings about 16 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 17, only 7 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 9 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan7.98:554:46
Feb9.58:115:40
Mar11.57:066:35
Apr13.65:517:31
May15.54:508:24
Jun16.64:229:00
Jul16.24:408:53
Aug14.55:298:01
Sep12.46:236:48
Oct10.37:175:35
Nov8.48:154:37
Dec7.48:564:18

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Den Helder averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 11 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.9 months, from around Mar 16 to Sep 12. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 10 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is November, down near 3 sunny days — about 67% fewer than the May peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 1211 daysNov 273 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr9Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun8Mixed
Jul10Mixed
Aug9Mixed
Sep6Gloomy
Oct5Gloomy
Nov3Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Den Helder, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.0 months, from around June 24 to September 21. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 29% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 22 to June 23, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 8 · 100%Aug 6 · 65%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May96400
Jun692830
Jul3544192
Aug3041254
Sep603190
Oct871300
Nov100000
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Den Helder is typically breezy, near 27 km/h, and varies a lot with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.7 months, from around Sep 28 to Mar 21. The windiest month is January, averaging about 32 km/h (windy).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 22 to Sep 27, with July the calmest month at about 22 km/h.

0510152025303540JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezywindyblusteryJan 6 · 33 km/hJul 28 · 22 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan32windy
Feb30windy
Mar28breezy
Apr24breezy
May24breezy
Jun23breezy
Jul22breezy
Aug23breezy
Sep26breezy
Oct29windy
Nov31windy
Dec32windy

Best time to visit Den Helder

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Den Helder throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early September, Den Helder is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Den Helder for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 6.1

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.5poor
Feb0.3poor
Mar0.9poor
Apr2.1poor
May3.5fair
Jun4.6fair
Jul5.7good
Aug5.7good
Sep4.8fair
Oct3.4poor
Nov2.0poor
Dec1.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Den Helder for hot-weather activities is from late July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 4 · 2.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Den Helder, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 19°C), the essentials are rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. In the cold season around February (highs near 6°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Den Helder sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 17°C. Worth packing: rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 13 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Den Helder

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 13 km away) is warmest in August at about 19°C and coldest in February near 6°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan6Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug19Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct15Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec8Bracing

UV index (midday) in Den Helder by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Den Helder peaks around July 14 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 14UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Den Helder

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 1 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr30
May60
Jun7.50
Jul7.51
Aug6.50
Sep40
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Den Helder is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about February 6 to January 28 (357 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freereliably frost-freeFeb 690%Jan 2890%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan9310
Feb9215
Mar990
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec970

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Den Helder banks about 907 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02004006008001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May49
Jun134
Jul215
Aug239
Sep177
Oct87
Nov6
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Den Helder receives about 3.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.5 and 6.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Mar 23 to Sep 14. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.0 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.6 kWh/m² — roughly 90% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 276.0 kWhDec 230.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.7Dim
Feb1.5Dim
Mar2.9Moderate
Apr4.7Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.0Bright
Jul5.8Bright
Aug4.8Bright
Sep3.2Moderate
Oct1.8Dim
Nov0.9Dim
Dec0.6Dim

Where is Den Helder?

Den Helder sits at 53.0°N, 4.8°E, 3 m above sea level, in The Netherlands. The nearest listed city is Julianadorp, 8.0 km away.

MedemblikBergenHeerhugowaardAlkmaarHeilooHoorn

Topography around Den Helder

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Den Helder.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Den Helder has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 20 m around an average of 1 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 29 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 66 m.

The land around Den Helder is covered by water (54%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, water (66%) within 16 km, and water (59%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
20 m
16 km
29 m
80 km
66 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Julianadorp 8.0 km · Schagen 19 km · Medemblik 31 km · Bergen 33 km · Heerhugowaard 33 km · Alkmaar 37 km · Heiloo 40 km · Hoorn 41 km

The Netherlands travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 84% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$73,684
2025
Happiness
7.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 624
Religion
none 54%Roman Catholic 20%Protestant 15%other 6%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Den Helder (52.9599°, 4.7593°, elevation 3 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).