The Netherlands could be having its coldest Christmas for 15 years

It’s been a dreary and relatively warm December so far, but the weather in the Netherlands looks set to get a lot chillier as we head into the second half of the week. According to some reports, we could be in for the coldest Christmas in 15 years! 

Temperature dropping rapidly this week

The last few days have seen the wind shift to the east, bringing increasingly colder air across the Netherlands and pushing the thermometer down closer towards zero. After a relatively dry Tuesday with a maximum high of 5 degrees, on Christmas Eve the temperature will barely rise above 2 to 4 degrees across the Netherlands, and the chilly night will bring a proper frost for a nice, pretty Christmas morning.

According to Weeronline.nl, temperatures will drop below freezing in more and more places on Christmas Day and Second Christmas Day, with it barely exceeding 1 or 2 degrees during the day. In the east, the thermometer could drop as low as -5 degrees. When you also account for the wind chill factor, it could feel like a chilly -10 degrees in some areas! 

Coldest Christmas in the Netherlands for years

All of that is pointing towards it being the chilliest Christmas in the Netherlands for more than 15 years! 

Towards the end of the week, there may be some opportunities for ice skating on frozen-over flooded meadows, but meteorologist Abe Weenik from Weeronline says that it’s very unlikely that lakes, ponds and canals will freeze over - it’s not quite cold enough for that.