Cold weather ahead, but a white Christmas remains unlikely

Temperatures are set to drop significantly after this week, with a cold Christmas on the way, according to Weeronline. Up until this weekend, the weather will remain mild, with some sunshine and light rain, before evening temperatures fall below freezing overnight leading up to Christmas.

For the next four days, temperatures are expected to range between nine and 12 degrees Celsius, with mostly cloudy skies.

After the weekend, temperatures are expected to drop further. Weeronline estimates a 70 to 80 percent chance that it will be colder than usual, with average daytime temperatures around six degrees Celsius and nighttime lows near one degree.

It will gradually get colder over the holidays, with daytime temperatures a few degrees above or below zero and light frost at night. The chance of rain is roughly 40 percent over the weekend, decreasing to around 30 percent over Christmas.

The likelihood of snow sticking in De Bilt, where the national weather measurement station is located, is slim during Christmas. Despite this, seeing snowflakes on Christmas Day remains possible due to the low temperatures and existing chance of precipitation. Weeronline added that the forecast for Christmas is still uncertain, as the holidays are still nine days away.

According to the the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), there have only been 8 official white christmases since records began in 1901. These came in 1906, 1938, 1950, 1964, 1981, 2009, and 2010.