Local snow possible at Christmas, mild weather around New Year's

There is a chance parts of the Netherlands will get a white Christmas this year. There will be some snow locally during the Christmas holidays, although it is not yet entirely clear how much, reported Weer.nl. The weather is predicted to get milder in the run-up to New Year's Day.

Temperatures which hovered around freezing on Thursday morning could rise to between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius by the end of the afternoon. The country will not be subjected to subzero temperatures on Friday. The cloud cover in the north will bring rain occasionally, but it could remain try in most places further south. It will range between 8 and 10 degrees during the day, but cold air will eventually come in from the north.

During the Christmas season, the cold air will begin to spread towards the south. In the northern half of the country, the temperature might barely rise above freezing. It is not yet clear how much snow will fall, according to the weather bureau. Up to 3 centimeters could land on a strip across the center of the country, but there are also weather models that show hardly any precipitation. It could even clear up a bit in the north. On Boxing Day, the cold air from the south will again be pushed aside. As a result, the temperature will above freezing again, bringing a cloudy day with occasional rain.

"Many people dream of a white Christmas, but rain and Christmas is a combination that is much more common. Since 1901 it has only been completely dry in De Bilt fifteen times," said Jaco van Wezel of Weeronline. De Bilt is a town in Utrecht considered to be the meteorological center of the Netherlands. The last dry Christmas there was in 2018.

"It also remained dry in 2008, 2006 and 2003. On average, Christmas is dry once every eight years. Only in 1907 and 1908 and in 1971 and 1972 did it remain dry for two years in a row at Christmas," he said.

After Christmas, the weather could get milder. It will be cloudy almost every day, with occasional downpours and stronger wind. At first it will be from 7 to 10 degrees, and could remain milder around the turn of the new year.