After one of the driest summers on record, Noord-Holland is finally in for serious rain. Weatherman Jan Visser expects 60 to 70 millimeters between now and the middle of next week, enough, in his words, to make a genuine difference to the parched ground.
The change arrives loudly. A large thunderstorm complex was forecast for Thursday evening, with more heavy showers expected on Friday.
Where the rain falls hard and fast there is a real chance of local flooding, so the relief for gardens and parks may come with some waterlogged streets first.
A week of rain will not undo months of drought. But 70 millimeters is roughly a normal late-summer month, delivered in days, and for the first time since early summer the forecast is working with the city rather than against it.

