Temps to soar up to 26°C later this week

The Netherlands is in for dry, often sunny, and increasingly warm weather this week. On Friday, thermometers will hit 26 degrees in some regions, Weeronline expects. After the weekend, there will be a greater chance of showers and some cooler temperatures.

The sunny weather starts today. “The last cloud fields will move south later this morning, allowing the sun to break through abundantly,” said meteorologist Wouter van Bernebeek. “This is due to a very dry air mass flowing over our country today.”

Afternoon temperatures will climb to a maximum of 15 degrees in the northern tip of Noord-Holland, and 18 to 28 degrees in the central and southern regions. The Wadden Islands will be a bit cooler, with maximums around 13 degrees. A moderate to fairly strong easterly to northeasterly wind will make it feel quite chilly outside of the sun.

On Wednesday, the sun will shine brightly everywhere in the Netherlands from sunrise to mid-evening. “However, we will once again have to deal with a fairly strong northeasterly wind, which will cause somewhat chilly weather in the coastal areas and over the Wadden Sea,” said Van Bernebeek. Maximums will range from 13 degrees in the coastal areas to around 20 degrees in Noord-Brabant and Limburg.

Thursday and Friday will also be abundantly sunny. “Because the wind is blowing offshore, it will also get considerably warmer on the western beaches than on previous days.” On Thursday afternoon, thermometers will climb to between 17 and 22 degrees, north to south.

On Friday, temperatures will rise even further. In the south, maximums of up to 26 degrees are possible. “The month of May gets off to a very summery start,” said Van Bernebeek. Later on Friday, cloud fields will move into the country from the south, and there may be a shower or two in Zeeland.

Saturday will be another warm day, with temperatures looking set to reach around 25 degrees. “Although there is still some uncertainty regarding how quickly any cloud cover will spread,” the meteorologist warned. Coastal areas will be cooler, with temperatures not rising above 17 to 20 degrees and there may be some rain later in the day.

Sunday will likely be less warm, but still pleasant, with maximums of 16 to 20 degrees. “A few showers and thunderstorms will pass over the country again.”