Consistent cold brings growing chance of natural ice skating in the Netherlands
With overnight temperatures to fall as low as -6 degrees Celsius next week, and daytime temperatures rising no more than a couple of degrees above zero, more people in the Netherlands may have an opportunity to go skating on natural ice next week. A brief cold snap already had people out on the ice in Geldersland last month, and temperatures even fell as low as -6.6 degrees in the northeast early Friday morning, catching the railroad system off-guard.
The temperature everywhere in the Netherlands will remain below zero at least during the late night and early morning hours. This will continue at least through Thursday, with a chance of remaining until Christmas. The highs should be about 2 degrees on Saturday, but up through Thursday it will range from -2 to 2 degrees.
"A little winter precipitation is possible on Sunday, especially in the southwest; from Wednesday there is a chance of occasional snow, especially in the south," the Dutch meteorological institute KNMI said. From next Friday, there is a "reasonable" chance of ice and frost overnight, and an increasing chance of precipitation.
The consistent cold weather means a good chance that ice will start to form on shallower, stagnant waterways, predicted weather website Buienradar. The weather website cited a model from the KNMI that showed ice may first start to form in waterways with a depth of about two meters starting over the weekend. That ice growth should continue into next week. By mid-week, there could be about five centimeters of ice in some locations, just enough for one person to safely skate alone.
With a stroke of luck, a thicker layer could form. Once the ice reaches eight centimeters, people can skate in a group. Longer distances can be covered by larger groups when the ice is at 12 centimeters. At that point, people may start talking about the Elfstedentocht, the 200-kilometer race and tour along a course through Friesland, though 15 centimeters of ice is needed along most of the route for that to be possible.
On the other hand, the KNMI has predicted fog for Friday and Saturday. If foggy conditions continue, the higher humidity can make it harder for ice to form, Buienradar said. Additionally, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday carry the best chances of the sun breaking through the clouds over the next seven days. Persistent cloud cover can also make it less likely that ice forms.
