All Saints’ Day may be just days away, but the thermometer seems to have forgotten the calendar. For Tuesday 27 October, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) is forecasting highs of up to 19°C in the Campine, values more typical of September. In Brussels, temperatures are around 18°C, about 5 degrees above the seasonal norm.
Fog in the Ardennes, take care on the roads
Yet the day began wrapped in cotton wool. The RMI issued a yellow fog warning for the province of Luxembourg: on the Ardennes uplands, visibility could drop below 200 metres in the morning. Drizzle also dampened towns and valleys before the clouds broke up to let through a few sunny spells.
In the afternoon, a small weather front crosses the country from west to east bringing some rain, with the east staying dry for longer. In the evening, it is the east that gets the last drops. Temperatures range from 14°C in the High Fens to 19°C in the Campine, with a moderate wind, stronger on the coast.
A much cooler night
The contrast will be striking from tonight: with wider clear spells, lows will fall to between 3 and 8°C inland. A reminder that it really is the end of October, after last weekend’s strong winds (gusts of 50 to 55 km/h) and heavy rainfall, with up to 50 to 70 litres per square metre forecast in the Ardennes.
What’s the outlook for All Saints’?
The models point to calmer, drier weather for the rest of the week. According to MeteoBelgique’s forecasts, Wednesday and Thursday look mostly clear with highs around 15°C, followed by a Friday and Saturday under clear skies, around 14°C. The flip side: clear nights will send temperatures down to 4 to 6°C, with a risk of fog patches early in the morning.
These trends still need to be confirmed in upcoming forecasts, but they are rather encouraging for anyone planning to visit a cemetery or enjoy a forest walk, as the leaves reach their finest colours.
Our tips
Use dipped headlights and adjust your speed in morning fog, especially in the Ardennes. For outings late in the day, bring an extra layer: the sun now sets around 5.30 p.m. and the chill sets in quickly.
Sources : L’Avenir, Econostrum, MeteoBelgique, DH/Belga
Photo: charles lecompte / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
