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Rule Golden Hour

Utrecht - Golden Hour - The Netherlands

Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

That magical warm light just after sunrise or before sunset

Currently

Real-time conditions
Low Cloud Cover100%
Mid Cloud Cover71%
High Cloud Cover100%
Sun Elevation-18.1° (Astronomical night)

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Europe/Amsterdam
golden-hour weather icon
Next opportunity
Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunrise
Utrecht
Wed, Feb 25 · 07:12–08:20 · 1h window
Medium confidence
51%
🌇Golden Hour Potential93.6-100%
Low Cloud Cover: 0%
Mid Cloud Cover: 0%
High Cloud Cover: 0%
Sun Elevation: -6.0° (Civil twilight)
golden-hour weather icon
Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunset
Utrecht
Wed, Feb 25 · 17:25–18:33
🌇Golden Hour Potential:86.4-91.9%
Medium

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

The Netherlands' extreme flatness creates extended golden hour conditions as the sun travels horizontally across an unobstructed horizon. This geography—much of the country below sea level—means longer, softer light transitions compared to mountainous regions.

The flat polder landscape transforms during golden hour as windmills cast impossibly long shadows across the fields. Tulip fields (primarily April-May in the Bollenstreek region) become ribbons of saturated color enhanced by low-angle sunlight. The horizontal light emphasizes the engineered geometry of Dutch water management—straight canals, rectangular fields, and linear dykes become graphic elements.

What makes Dutch golden hour unique:

  • Extended duration - Flat horizon means golden hour lasts 30-40 minutes longer than hilly regions
  • Windmill silhouettes - Iconic structures backlit against colorful skies with unobstructed views
  • Tulip field glow - Spring flowers (Keukenhof region) illuminated by horizontal light
  • Water multiplication - Canals and polder channels reflect and extend golden light effects

Best timing varies seasonally: summer sunsets around 9-10 PM provide extended shooting windows; winter around 4-5 PM offers lower sun angles but shorter duration. Spring (April-May) combines golden hour with tulip blooms. The Kinderdijk, Zaanse Schans, and rural polders between Amsterdam and Rotterdam offer classic windmill compositions. Bring neutral density filters for extended exposures on calm water.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour
4matching hours in the next 95 hoursJump to next match
AND logic: all conditions required
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
Europe/Amsterdam
Golden Hour
Any
Golden Hour Potential
≥ 80.0%
Precipitation Chance
≤ 5.0%
Visibility
≥ 1000.0m
Sat, Feb 21
20:007%78%24135m
21:007%58%24134m
22:005.4%39%8480m
23:006.4%50%15476m
Sun, Feb 22
24:006%62%24135m
01:006%74%24135m
02:006%74%24135m
03:006%80%24134m
04:006%86%24135m
05:006%91%24134m
06:006%95%24135m
07:0036%100%24134m
08:0040%83%24134m
09:005.4%67%10517m
10:004.4%50%5191m
11:006%51%21693m
12:005%52%11084m
13:006%53%22430m
14:006%94%24135m
15:006%96%24135m
16:006%97%24135m
17:0040%97%24135m
18:0040%97%24135m
19:0028%98%24135m
20:006.6%75%24134m
21:006.5%52%24134m
22:006.6%29%24135m
23:006.6%46%24135m
Mon, Feb 23
24:0013%64%24135m
01:0015%82%24135m
02:009.8%68%24135m
03:008.6%53%24135m
04:008.4%39%24135m
05:007.5%59%24134m
06:007.6%78%24135m
07:0062%98%24134m
08:0091%97%24135m
09:008.7%96%24134m
10:006.8%95%24135m
11:006.9%96%24134m
12:007%98%24134m
13:007.1%99%24135m
14:007.2%93%24134m
15:006.7%86%22246m
16:007.5%80%15346m
17:0042%80%24134m
18:0047%80%24134m
19:0023%80%23273m
20:006.6%62%24135m
21:006.8%43%19079m
22:007%25%24135m
23:007.4%29%24135m
Tue, Feb 24
24:007.4%34%24134m
01:007.4%39%24135m
02:007.8%42%24134m
03:007.8%46%24135m
04:007.8%50%24135m
05:007.8%42%24135m
06:007.8%34%24135m
07:0043%26%11456m
08:0022%17%747m
09:004.6%8.7%418m
10:003.6%0%747m
11:005.4%0%1105m
12:008.6%0%17036m
13:0010%0%24135m
14:0010%0%24134m
15:009.3%0%24135m
16:008.6%0%24135m
17:0050%0%24134m
18:0055%0%24135m
19:0029%0%24135m
20:0015%0%24134m
21:0015%0%24134m
22:0015%0%24134m
23:0015%0%24134m
Wed, Feb 25
24:0016%0%24134m
01:0016%0%24135m
02:0016%0%24135m
03:0015%0%24135m
04:0015%0%24135m
05:0015%0%24135m
06:0016%0%24135m
07:0094%0%24135m
08:00100%0%24135m
09:0017%0%24135m
10:0017%0%24135m
11:0016%0%24135m
12:0015%0%24135m
13:0013%0%24135m
14:0016%0%24135m
15:0017%0%24135m
16:0014%0%24135m
17:0086%0%24135m
18:0092%0%24135m
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity).

What does Golden Hour Potential mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time
Europe/Amsterdam
Golden Hour
High Clouds
%
Low Clouds
%
Mid-Level Clouds
%
Relative Humidity
%
Total Cloud Coverage
%
Wind Speed
m/s
Sun, Feb 22 Sunrise 07:40 Sunset 18:05
20:00
- 100% 100% 71% 91% 100% 6.6m/s
21:00
- 100% 60% 100% 88% 100% 7m/s
22:00
- 100% 68% 100% 93% 100% 6.7m/s
23:00
- 55% 40% 100% 92% 100% 6m/s
Mon, Feb 23 Sunrise 07:40 Sunset 18:05
24:00
- 0% 41% 35% 92% 51% 6.2m/s
01:00
- 31% 38% 0% 93% 41% 6m/s
02:00
- 0% 74% 0% 94% 74% 5.7m/s
03:00
- 0% 95% 0% 92% 95% 6.1m/s
04:00
- 6% 97% 0% 90% 97% 6.9m/s
05:00
- 54% 95% 0% 88% 95% 7.1m/s
06:00
- 33% 94% 0% 87% 94% 6.9m/s
07:00
- 5% 75% 0% 88% 75% 6.9m/s
08:00
- 5% 34% 0% 86% 34% 7m/s
09:00
- 96% 16% 6% 85% 96% 7.2m/s
10:00
- 90% 76% 84% 84% 90% 7.5m/s
11:00
- 100% 69% 47% 81% 100% 8.1m/s
12:00
- 100% 58% 54% 79% 100% 8m/s
13:00
- 100% 5% 77% 78% 100% 7.7m/s
14:00
- 100% 37% 100% 77% 100% 8.2m/s
15:00
- 100% 6% 100% 78% 100% 8.3m/s
16:00
- 32% 5% 92% 79% 92% 8.4m/s
17:00
- 85% 83% 89% 82% 98% 8.2m/s
18:00
- 37% 41% 100% 84% 100% 7.4m/s
19:00
- 60% 90% 100% 89% 100% 6.6m/s
20:00
- 80% 89% 100% 91% 100% 6m/s
21:00
- 98% 100% 100% 93% 100% 5.3m/s
22:00
- 100% 100% 100% 93% 100% 4.9m/s
23:00
- 100% 100% 100% 94% 100% 4.2m/s
Tue, Feb 24 Sunrise 07:38 Sunset 18:07
24:00
- 28% 100% 100% 95% 100% 3.8m/s
01:00
- 80% 100% 98% 96% 100% 3.2m/s
02:00
- 100% 100% 99% 97% 100% 2.6m/s
03:00
- 100% 100% 100% 98% 100% 2.3m/s
04:00
- 100% 100% 99% 97% 100% 2m/s
05:00
- 100% 100% 89% 97% 100% 1.6m/s
06:00
- 100% 100% 100% 97% 100% 1.4m/s
07:00
- 45% 100% 84% 98% 100% 1.8m/s
08:00
- 100% 100% 24% 99% 100% 1.8m/s
09:00
- 45% 100% 5% 99% 100% 1.9m/s
10:00
- 89% 100% 5% 99% 100% 2.6m/s
11:00
- 43% 100% 5% 99% 100% 3m/s
12:00
- 58% 98% 5% 98% 98% 2.7m/s
13:00
- 77% 13% 5% 92% 77% 2.9m/s
14:00
- 100% 6% 5% 81% 100% 3.6m/s
15:00
- 100% 1% 30% 82% 100% 3.5m/s
16:00
- 100% 0% 96% 83% 100% 2.7m/s
17:00
- 100% 0% 100% 88% 100% 1.4m/s
18:00
- 100% 0% 33% 91% 100% 1.2m/s
19:00
- 57% 0% 86% 92% 86% 2.1m/s
20:00
- 5% 0% 4% 93% 5% 2.9m/s
21:00
- 5% 0% 4% 94% 5% 3m/s
22:00
- 5% 0% 3% 94% 5% 2.9m/s
23:00
- 5% 0% 0% 94% 5% 2.9m/s
Wed, Feb 25 Sunrise 07:36 Sunset 18:09
24:00
- 23% 0% 0% 94% 23% 3.1m/s
01:00
- 14% 0% 0% 94% 14% 2.9m/s
02:00
- 10% 0% 0% 91% 10% 3.1m/s
03:00
- 5% 0% 0% 88% 5% 3.3m/s
04:00
- 0% 0% 0% 85% 0% 3.5m/s
05:00
- 0% 0% 0% 80% 0% 3.8m/s
06:00
- 0% 0% 0% 75% 0% 4.2m/s
07:00
- 0% 0% 0% 70% 0% 4.5m/s
08:00
- 2% 0% 14% 70% 14% 4.4m/s
09:00
- 3% 0% 29% 70% 29% 4.3m/s
10:00
- 5% 0% 43% 70% 43% 4.3m/s
11:00
- 5% 0% 48% 76% 48% 3.9m/s
12:00
- 5% 0% 53% 81% 53% 3.6m/s
13:00
- 5% 0% 58% 86% 58% 3.3m/s
14:00
- 4% 0% 39% 87% 39% 3.5m/s
15:00
- 2% 0% 19% 89% 20% 3.6m/s
16:00
- 1% 0% 0% 90% 1% 3.8m/s
17:00
- 4% 0% 0% 91% 4% 3.8m/s
18:00
- 7% 0% 0% 93% 7% 3.7m/s
19:00
- 9% 0% 0% 94% 9% 3.7m/s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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