Freezing rain creates hazardous conditions in Friesland and Groningen

Freezing rain created hazardous conditions in Groningen and the eastern part of Friesland on Saturday morning, prompting the KNMI to issue a code orange weather alert for the two provinces. It is to end at 9 a.m., followed by a code yellow warning until 11 a.m.

"Rain falling on frozen surfaces is causing widespread icy conditions," a KNMI spokesperson said. Code yellow also applies to nearly the entire country, except the Wadden Islands, until 11 a.m., with slippery conditions on bridges, roads, bike paths, and sidewalks increasing the risk of accidents.

In Friesland, the N31 highway between Leeuwarden and Drachten was closed in both directions following four accidents. Rijkswaterstaat, the national infrastructure agency, stated it is "likely" the accidents were caused by the icy conditions. According to Omrop Fryslân, one car ended up in a ditch, another overturned, and several vehicles collided with the guardrail. No information about injuries has been released.

Amsterdam also reported vehicles skidding off the road. "This is unusual, as Saturday mornings are typically very quiet on the roads," a Rijkswaterstaat spokesperson stated.

In addition to freezing rain, dense fog caused disruptions in parts of Gelderland, Overijssel, and Noord-Brabant. KNMI issued warnings for thick fog patches in these regions until 9 a.m., advising drivers to proceed with caution.

Since 7 p.m. on Friday, Rijkswaterstaat has spread nearly 3.3 million kilograms of salt on highways to mitigate icy conditions. Municipalities and provincial authorities have also salted major roads. Despite these efforts, Rijkswaterstaat urged everyone to exercise extreme caution when traveling in icy conditions.

Additionally, many trams in The Hague are running late on Saturday morning. The transport company HTM cited hazardous icy conditions as the main concern, adding that they expect the disruptions to last throughout the morning.