Netherlands to record its first official “ice day” this winter today

The weather in De Bilt, Utrecht, did not rise higher than -1.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday afternoon, making it the very first official “ice day” of this winter. Various weather agencies predicted that it would remain cold for the entire afternoon and evening on Tuesday, and that temperatures will continue to fall at the main weather monitoring station.

An “ice day” is defined by the Dutch meteorological institute, KNMI, as being a day entirely below the freezing point where even the high temperature does not reach above 0 degrees. The KNMI is headquartered in De Bilt. Due to its central location, the municipality is considered the meteorological average for the Netherlands.

The first ice day in De Bilt arrived earlier than average this winter. Normally, the first day where the mercury does not rise above zero in De Bilt is 27 December, according to Weeronline. The last time there was an official ice day was on 13 February last year, when the temperature did not get warmer than -0.6 degrees at the main station. This ice day was also the last in a series of seven consecutive ice days in De Bilt.

According to the current climate records, there are an average of six ice days in De Bilt per winter. In the past winter season there were no official ice days, and in the winter of 2019-2020 it also did not freeze for 24 hours on any given day in De Bilt.

On Saturday, the first official ice day of the year seemed to be a fact after a day full of frost, but in the evening, the temperature rose just above zero in De Bilt still exceed zero in the evening. It was a day where the temperature remained at or below the freezing point in Eelde, Drenthe, making it an ice day in one locality, according to Weer.nl.