Maximums up to 37°C expected in Netherlands this week

Tuesday is the start of a very hot couple of days in the Netherlands. Weeronline expects temperatures to climb up to 37 degrees Celsius by the end of the week.

On Tuesday the eastern parts of the Randstad can expect maximums around 32 degrees. Rotterdam and Amsterdam will hit 30 degrees. The central parts of the country will see maximums between 32 and 35 degrees - the hottest it's been all year. The Wadden area, parts of Noord-Holland and along the west coast will be slightly cooler, with maximums ranging between 27 and 29 degrees, according to the weather service.

A breeze will start blowing in the afternoon, which means that temps will cool down slightly. On Tuesday evening, some cloud fields will move across the country from the south, bringing with them a small chance of local showers. The evening will be warm with temperatures ranging from 20 degrees at sea to 25 degrees in the east. During the night minimum temperatures will drop to around 18 degrees, but in inner cities temps will not fall below 20 degrees.

Wednesday will be mostly sunny with similar maximums expected as on Tuesday.

Thursday and Friday will be slightly hotter. The Randstad area can expect maximums between 32 and 35 degrees. In the south, east and on the Veluwe temperatures are expected to climb to 37 degrees. The Wadden area, the head of Noord-Holland and Zeeland's west coast can expect maximums between 29 and 31 degrees. The days will be very sunny and largely dry, though there is a chance of thunderstorms in the south and west on Friday night.

According to Weeronline, there is a very good chance of an official national heatwave from Thursday. For that to happen, temperatures must climb to at least 25 degrees in De Bilt for five days, and three of those days must see temperatures above 30 degrees. In De Bilt it has been hotter than 25 degrees every day since July 15th. So once De Bilt gets three days above 30, the heat wave will be a fact. Maximums of around 32 degrees are expected in De Bilt on Tuesday and Wednesday, and around 34 degrees is expected for Thursday.