Chance of skating on natural ice is increasing due to cold weather

With the cold weather this weekend, it is probably a matter of time before skating is possible in the Netherlands. Sheets of ice are expected to form in more and more places in the coming week, Weeronline reported on Saturday.

Initially, this will involve flooded lanes and later in the week, possibly shallow pools and ditches with standing water. For that to happen, the nights must be clear and cold. Because larger puddles remain unreliable for now, warned the weather service.

On Saturday and Sunday, it will be very cold in the Netherlands with widespread night frost. Very locally, the temperature can also remain below freezing during the day. Ditches and ponds will get a layer of ice, but this ice is not yet good enough to skate on. Ice rinks however, created by watering skate tracks will probably be able to open in the coming week.

The Dutch meteorological institute KNMI warned that wet road sections may become slippery due to freezing. In the northwest of the Netherlands there is also a chance of a wintry shower.

Rijkswaterstaat, responsible for practical execution of the public works and water management in the Netherlands, is preventively gritting in several places and warns road users of poor visibility in the middle and west of the country.

Friday evening code yellow also applied throughout the country because of the slipperiness and dense fog. Friday was the first official local ice day of the winter, as it remained below zero degrees all day in Eelde in the province of Drenthe.