One night of frost and the Dutch are already on the ice

Early skaters in Winterswijk. Photo: Vincent Jannick ANP
Early skaters in Winterswijk. Photo: Vincent Jannick ANP

Skating fanatics were able to enjoy skating on natural ice for a few hours for the first time this winter, as the Winterswijk outdoor rink opened after a night of moderate frost.

Skaters could access the ice at 8.15 am after the local ice club team worked through the night to ready the rink for the morning, after the temperature plunged to as low as -7 Celsius.

At just one centimetre thick, there was enough ice for a few hundred skaters to enjoy, local ice master Hendrik van Prooije told broadcaster NOS. ‘We’ve never been open so early in the season.’

The coldest place in the Netherlands on Saturday night was Enschede on the German border, where the temperature fell to -8.8 Celsius. The frost covered most of the country apart from the north of Groningen, Zeeland coast and south of Limburg.

In the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht, where official weather records are set, the temperature fell to -6.5 Celsius – or what is officially known as a moderate frost. This is early for the time of year, according to weather bureau Weerplaza.

The chilly temperatures will be short lived and from Monday the temperature will rise to around 8 Celsius during the day and fall to 4-7 Celsius at night. Sunday’s sunny spells will also be replaced by cloud and showers.

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