Gray, misty weekend to close exceptionally dry year in the Netherlands

The Netherlands faces a gray and misty weekend, with dense fog this morning across central and northern provinces and light rain or drizzle expected in the south by the afternoon, weeronline reports.

Temperatures will range from 6 degrees in the north to 8 degrees in the southeast, with a weak east-southeast wind. By evening, showers will continue in the south, center, and west, while the northeast remains mostly dry at 4–6 degrees.

On Sunday, skies will remain mostly cloudy with occasional sun, and a small amount of rain is possible in the southwest. Temperatures will rise to 8–11 degrees, with light winds.

Early next week, scattered clouds and occasional sun are expected, with highs around 5–7 degrees on Monday and 4–6 degrees on Tuesday.

Approaching Christmas, the weather will turn colder, with daytime highs of 1–3 degrees and widespread nighttime frost.

This weekend’s mild, misty conditions come at the close of an exceptionally dry year. As of December 20, average nationwide precipitation reached roughly 672 millimeters, well below the 869-millimeter average from 1995–2024.

It is only the third year this century with less than 700 millimeters of rain. The last comparable dry years were 2003 and 2018, which saw totals of 655 mm and 648 mm, respectively. The driest year on record remains 1921, with just 418 mm.

The north received the most rainfall this year, with many areas seeing 650–850 mm and parts of Noord-Holland exceeding 900 mm. The south and southwest were far drier, receiving 450–550 mm. “Nine months were drier than normal, with only three wet months. March was record dry with just 5 millimeters of precipitation,” the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) reported.

The year also featured four storms, winter snowfall, and local flooding. On New Year’s Day, storm-force winds reached level 9, with gusts up to 111 km/h in IJmuiden. February brought 5–10 centimeters of snow in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe, while November saw early snowfall across southern Limburg and Zeeland, prompting large-scale road treatments.