Would you like to go skating on natural ice? Then you shouldn’t wait too long, because in a few days the fun will be over. Raymond Klaassen from Weerplaza said this on Tuesday morning in the radio program WAKKER! on Omroep Brabant.
It was 5 to 6 degrees in Brabant on Tuesday morning. “But it felt like it was between 11 and 13 degrees below zero. That has everything to do with the easterly wind. It blows moderately, but occasionally quite strongly in open areas. This causes extra cooling on the skin and that makes it feel much colder. The sun has caused the temperature on the thermometer to rise slightly.”
Tuesday afternoon we will end up around freezing point. “But with that easterly wind, the perceived temperature remains considerably lower than the thermometer indicates.”
“This says nothing at all about climate change.”
However, these low temperatures do not mean that everything is going well with climate change, the weatherman explains.
“The climate and the weather are two different things. The climate is about the average over a long period of time, the weather is from day to day. There can be quite a few cold days now and then. We are in the middle of that now. This says nothing at all about climate change, which is really happening.”
“This frost period won’t last very long.”
Raymond finds it difficult to indicate when it is responsible to skate. “This period of frost will not last very long. It will continue to freeze at night, but the afternoon temperature will rise above zero again later this week. Because of this and the easterly wind, the ice cannot easily grow.”
He therefore advises skating enthusiasts to opt for skating rinks that have been specially constructed. “Maybe you can also skate on a puddle on a meadow. If you fall through it because the water level drops, you will only be left with wet feet. I don’t think you should skate on larger lakes or canals.”
“You have to be careful when skating on meadows.”
Erik Ekkel is the man behind Ekkel.com, a website where you can see if and where you can skate on natural ice. He expects that some natural ice rinks will open during this day.
“Maybe a flooded meadow here and there, that could be possible. It is a very beautiful day today. If it freezes like this again next night, it will probably be possible in more places on Wednesday. We have a lot of flooded meadows due to the high water level “But you have to be a little careful, because there may be ditches underneath that are being pumped out.”
He therefore recommends skating enthusiasts to use the ‘IJsmeester’ app. “Through that app you can see and report where you can skate or where it is dangerous.”
“The weather will gradually change on Thursday.”
Weatherman Raymond sees the weather gradually changing on Thursday. “Then clouds will come from the north, although I think it will be sunny for a long time in Brabant that day. Thursday afternoon it will be 2 or 3 degrees above zero. It will also be cloudy on Friday, with 3 to 5 degrees in the afternoon. Also in At night it is already slightly above zero in many places.”
Is a skating rink open in your area? Then report this [email protected].
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