Second warmest Christmas period in the Netherlands since recordkeeping began

The temperature in De Bilt, Utrecht reached 11.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, tied for the sixth warmest Boxing Day on record. As a result, the two-day Christmas period was the second warmest since recordkeeping began in 1901. Five of the ten warmest Christmas periods were recorded since the turn of the century.

The weather peaked at 12.5 degrees on Christmas Day, making the two-day average high temperature 11.9 degrees. That was well short of the record set in 2015, when the average reached 14.2 degrees, according to weather website Weeronline.

On Tuesday, the high temperature in De Bilt was achieved during the early morning hours thanks to the wind blowing in from the west-southwest. Official weather records for the Netherlands are measured in the Utrecht city, which is considered a meteorological average for the country.

Warm weather records for both December 25 and 26 were set in 2015. The first date hit a maximum of 14 degrees Celsius, while the second rose to 14.4 degrees.

This week, the weather should remain warm for this time of year, but also rainy "with quite a bit of wind," according to the KNMI, the national meteorological office. It should get a bit colder over the weekend, ranging from 7 to 9 degrees during the day, and around 4 degrees at night. Frost is even possible both at the start of December 31, and on New Year's Day.

The weather will likely remain wet and soggy at least through January 5.

It will remain mild at first, but over the weekend the temperature will gradually drop towards normal values ​​for this time of year. On average, at the end of December it is about 6 degrees during the day and 1 degree at night. Now we arrive at around or slightly above these values.