Dutch beaches will be jammed this weekend with best-in-Europe weather expected

The roads toward the Dutch beaches will be crowded this weekend, the ANWB expects. The Netherlands is set to have the warmest and sunniest weather in Europe this weekend. Large crowds are expected along the coast from Thursday as residents of Germany take advantage of a long holiday weekend, and traffic could be bumper to bumper due to several special events.

For Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the weather forecasts have the Netherlands as the warmest and sunniest country in Europe, according to NOS weatherman Peter Kuipers Munneke. “This weekend, we will have more or less the weather of the Costa del Sol here,” he said. “In fact, we will have sunshine, and it will probably be cloudy there in southern Spain this weekend.”

Thermometers may even climb to a tropical 30 degrees in the south of the Netherlands on Saturday and Sunday, according to the KNMI. The meteorological institute expects the sun's strength to be 7 on a scale of 8 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - meaning that unprotected skin can burn within 10 to 15 minutes.

The crowds will likely be intense at Dutch beaches, coastal recreation areas, cities along the shore, and also nature reserves, said the Dutch travel association ANWB. Traffic towards the west will likely build up from 9 a.m. on Thursday, with German tourists taking advantage of the Corpus Christi public holiday.

“Favorite destinations are the coast, the Wadden Islands, and the Veluwe,” the ANWB stated. On Thursday morning, the worst traffic is expected on the westbound A1 towards Amsterdam, the westbound A12 towards Utrecht, and the N80 from Mönchengladbach towards the outlet mall in Roermond.

“Summer temperatures will mainly cause traffic jams to the coast and the Wadden Islands this weekend.” On top of that, the Haringvliet bridge on the A29 will close for eight weeks from Friday evening, forcing a detour from Rotterdam to Bergen op Zoom.

Traffic will also build on Friday and Saturday around Grollo during the Blues Festival there, and also all weekend in Hilvarenbeek for the Best Kept Secret festival. Sunday also means more road traffic near Landgraaf during a Bruce Springsteen concert, and towards Scheveningen for the Ocean Race.

Whether the hot and sunny weather will remain after Sunday is not yet clear. “If a high-pressure area remains over Scandinavia, it will remain warm. But if the wind blows from Ireland, it can cool down,” the NOS weatherman said. Kuipers Munneke expects little to no rain in the Netherlands until at least next week Thursday.

According to Weeronline, the precipitation deficit has increased to just above the long-term average since mid-May. It will increase further with little rain and lots of sunshine expected for the coming week. But that is not yet cause for alarm. Thanks to the wet spring, the groundwater levels are still on par, and all water boards can still meet the water demand.