Overnight snow disrupts train travel, but Schiphol departures largely resume
Large parts of the Netherlands were blanketed in snow overnight, causing slippery streets and travel delays, though the number of cancelled departing flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport remained low.
At the time of writing at 8 a.m. Saturday, only 15 outgoing flights had been cancelled and eight were delayed, according to Schiphol’s departures page. The low number of cancellations follows several previous snow days in early January that resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations. By mid-afternoon, no further departures were cancelled. Early morning departures mostly left on schedule, though some experienced minor delays, and a flight to Kittila was rescheduled for Sunday. Incoming flights were more affected, with 28 cancelled and 52 delayed.
NS trains operate under a reduced winter schedule. Defective switches and broken trains create delays lasting up to 30 minutes. Passengers on affected routes, including Groningen–Veendam, Groningen–Delfzijl, Leeuwarden–Stavoren, Maastricht–Liège/Luik, and Zwolle–Groningen, face longer travel times and extra transfers, NS reports.
Several routes have no service at all, including Groningen–Delfzijl and Leeuwarden–Stavoren until approximately 12:15 p.m., and Zwolle–Groningen until around 10:15 a.m. Planned maintenance on multiple lines, including Groningen–Leer, Amsterdam–Enkhuizen, and Hoofddorp–Schiphol–Lelystad, means further schedule adjustments are needed. Passengers were advised to check the NS travel planner for updates, especially for international travel.
Parts of Noord-Nederland, including Friesland, Groningen, and the Wadden Islands, remained under an orange weather warning until 9 a.m. because of severe drifting snow. Elsewhere, roads were slippery from snow and frozen wet patches, prompting a nationwide code yellow warning. In Amsterdam, partially melted snow had refrozen overnight into a rigid layer.
Authorities warned that the cold weekend would bring wind chills well below zero. Rijkswaterstaat implemented a cold protocol from 6 p.m. Saturday through Monday morning, deploying recovery vehicles to assist stranded road users and advising travelers to carry food, water, and warm clothing. Snow crews spread well over seven million kilograms of salt on roads and drove over 85,000 kilometers in clearing operations, bringing season totals to more than 121 million kilograms of salt and nearly 1.5 million kilometers driven.
Several provincial roads remained closed due to winter conditions. The N33 and N46 in Groningen were still shut on Saturday morning, with authorities uncertain when they could reopen. Snowplows were working to clear the roads, but Rijkswaterstaat said the task would become easier only after winds ease after 9 a.m. Both roads had been closed since Friday evening after snowdrifts made clearing unsafe. The province of Groningen had initially planned to assess the roads at daylight on Saturday, but “sneeuwjacht,” or wind-driven snow, forced the suspension of clearing efforts Friday night.
Bus service was also disrupted. In Groningen, Qbuzz buses did not operate until at least 11 a.m., later than originally planned due to persistent winter conditions. Buses on Terschelling and Schiermonnikoog continued to run, while service to Vlieland and Ameland was pending decisions later in the morning. In Friesland, buses were kept off the roads until at least 11 a.m., while Drenthe’s bus services ran as scheduled.
Despite much of the country looking like a true winter wonderland, winter sports fans were warned to temper expectations. Weeronline reported that natural ice would not yet be safe for skating on lakes, as open water needs time to freeze. The combination of recent snowfall and only a single cold night meant conditions were not yet suitable. Clear and consistently cold nights are required for ice to thicken safely.
By Sunday morning, however, ice rinks built from pumped water could be used, and temperatures were expected to drop regionally to -10 degrees. Meteorologists cautioned that skating on weak ice prematurely is not safe.
