Vierdaagse marchers warned as heat wave begins

Rising temperatures across the Netherlands are expected to peak above thirty degrees on Saturday, making way for thunderstorms Saturday night and a brief cool off on Sunday. The rising heat has led many weather experts to warn people participating in the Vierdaagse march in Nijmegen, a four-day walk where participants journey between 30 and 50 kilometers daily. The temperatures will fall far short of the 42-degree weather felt during the 2006 Vierdaagse, when two walkers died and three others were injured. The event was cancelled following the problems from the event's second day that year. Weather website WeerPlaza.nl warned walkers to frequently apply sunscreen, eat well and stay hydrated. With only a light breeze, the site cautions that the heavy sun could be harmful to unprotected skin. After temperatures could dip into the low twenties on Sunday, meteorologists predict the weather to spike back up to 28 degrees in Amsterdam before dipping back down again. The national meteorological office KNMI also says North Sea water temperatures could even rise to between 22 and 23 degrees in some coastal areas.