updateTuesday’s showers have done almost nothing to alleviate the drought in the Netherlands. Although the drought will temporarily stabilize this week, the precipitation deficit will continue to increase in the coming period.
On Tuesday, severe weather with heavy thunderstorms and hail swept across our country and after a record-long period of 39 dry days, a lot of rain fell in De Bilt. It rained heavily in the center, east and southwest in particular and in some places a few tens of millimeters of rain fell from the sky. This caused considerable flooding locally. The KNMI issued code orange for a large part of the country.
Due to the amount of rain that fell yesterday, the precipitation deficit has decreased by about 5 millimeters on average across the country, Weerplaza reports. The bone-dry soil cannot absorb all the water properly, so that it does not sink into the ground, but also washes away in sewers and ditches.
Water boards are trying to hold in as much as possible the rain that fell on Tuesday and that is expected to come later this week. The Aa en Maas water board has opened the water buffer at Laarbeek in East Brabant to allow the water storage behind it to fill up. The board hopes to use that water to prevent streams and ditches from drying up. Water storage facilities have been specially constructed throughout the Netherlands to collect water.
Sunday possible again 30 degrees locally
Despite the rain, the precipitation deficit is still high – currently 158 millimeters. That is fairly evenly distributed across the country; in the southwest it is 160 to 180 millimeters, where the east and north have a deficit of 140 to 150 millimeters. In the record year 1976, the record on this date was just a bit more at 163 mm.
Due to the dry and sunny weather, about 4 millimeters evaporate every day. On Thursday it will rain for a long time in the south and east, but in the west it will remain almost dry and sunny, so that the precipitation deficit will remain relatively the same. On Friday, the deficit is back at the same level as Tuesday. From Friday it will be dry and sunny, causing 3 to 4 millimeters of moisture to evaporate from the soil every day and the precipitation deficit will increase to about 185 millimeters in early July. On Sunday it can reach 30 degrees locally again, and little rain is expected after the weekend.
Spray ban and wildfires
Water board Vallei en Veluwe will impose a spraying ban on Thursday for almost the entire working area in Gelderland and Utrecht. The board expects streams on the edges of the Veluwe to run dry. Since there is a lot of unique flora and fauna there, the board wants to prevent drying out as long as possible.
The water board of Schieland and Krimpenerwaard near Rotterdam will collect water from neighboring Delfland. This is transported to the Rotte via the Bergsluis in Rotterdam. The water from Delfland is necessary because water from the Nieuwe Maas has become too salty due to the low water level in the rivers. The Rotte is important for the water supply to the surrounding polders and must therefore remain fresh. There is already a temporary pump at Lekkerkerk in the area of the water board. Many other shelves are also building pumps to maintain water levels.
Because there is virtually no rain, there is an increased risk of wildfires. Phase 2 applies throughout the country, which means that there is extra alertness to fires. It is forbidden to use fire pits, torches, balloons and fireworks. Weerplaza warns against cigarettes and glass in nature, which can also cause fire.
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