Snow, sleet, cold wind expected next week

The first snowflakes of 2014 could fall as early as Monday with winds from the northeast and the east predicted to bring colder weather across the Netherlands. Weeronline.nl says there is "a realistic chance of snow."

"The temperatures will plunge to below normal figures, [and] the wind will make it feel considerably colder," the weather website said.

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While the weather forecasters at that site recommend winter tires for drivers, and "Scarves, gloves and a hat" for everyone, the country's official meteorologists at the KNMI are not so certain.

They claim a possibility of freezing temperatures on Sunday night, leading to colder weather a day later, with a chance of snow and sleet.

Frost next Monday will be a stark contrast to the weather exactly one week earlier, when temperatures hit 14.5 degrees, making it the second warmest January day on record. Across the country, sub-zero temperatures have only been registered five days this season, when a normal winter would have brought 15 freezing days by now.