Rain, rain and more rain causes flooding across the Netherlands (and the worst is yet to come)

Forget a white Christmas, the Netherlands has had a very wet Christmas, with flooding in many areas across the country — and we haven’t seen the worst of it yet.

The current holiday season in the Netherlands has not seen snow but instead copious amounts of rain.

Combine this with the fact that the Alps are unusually warm for this time of year, and the Netherlands’ rivers and dikes are not coping well.

This is not only putting a damper on holiday spirits, it’s also causing flooding in areas such as Overijssel, Gelderland, Drenthe, Brabant, and Limburg, the NOS reports.

Translation: The water levels in the Ijssel are high.

Water levels expected to rise further

While the wet weather is expected to ease up slightly today, the Netherlands is bracing for the worst of the flooding.

READ MORE | Why does it rain so much in the Netherlands?

Meteorologist Leander de Wit of Buienradar explains to RTL Nieuws that:

“It is quite warm in the Alps. This causes a lot of melting snow. As a result, the water level in the Rhine will rise in the coming days, and is expected to peak on December 28.”

This won’t be helped by even more rain, which is forecast for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Translation: Pleasant weather: high water in the IJssel attracts a lot of attention today in the Hoenwaard near Hattem.

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