Snow: Multiple icy roads accidents in north Netherlands
Snow and icy roads have led to accidents in several places in the north of the Netherlands overnight and early Wednesday morning. As far as is known, everyone involved escaped unscathed.
Snow showers moved across Noord-Holland, Flevoland, Drenthe, Friesland, and Groningen from Tuesday evening until around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, though the snow has mostly already disappeared in Noord-Holland. The KNMI issued a code yellow warning of icy roads for Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, and the Wadden Islands. The warning will be in effect for the entire day.
“In the northeast, it’s still slippery due to remaining snow. Light snow will fall again there for a while this morning, which could also cause slippery conditions,” the KNMI said, warning everyone in Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, and the Wadden Islands to beware of icy roads, bridges, sidewalks, and bike paths. “It could remain slippery in places until tonight.”
Overnight, several cars went off the road on the A6 near Lemmer due to the icy conditions, NOS reported. There were similar accidents on multiple N-roads and local roads, mostly resulting in only property damage. On the A32 near Wirdum, a car overturned and ended up in a ditch.
Rijkswaterstaat deployed numerous gritting trucks to keep the main roads passable in the northern provinces. By 7:30 a.m., the public works and infrastructure department reported no issues on the highway, other than a warning for icy roads in the north.
As a precaution, NS adjusted its timetable and disconnected train services in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe from the rest of the country. This is to prevent snow-related disruptions from affecting the rest of the Netherlands. Passengers traveling to and from the northern provinces will have to make an additional transfer in Zwolle.
The KNMI also issued a code yellow warning for Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, and Zeeland due to thick fog causing poor visibility in these provinces. Fog banks could reduce visibility to less than 200 meters in some places, the meteorological institute warned. The fog should dissipate by 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday will be cloudy with occasional snowfall in the northeast, and light rain elsewhere in the country. Maximums will range between freezing in the northeast and +5 degrees Celsius in the southwest. There will be a moderate southeasterly wind in the north, increasing to strong along the coast. Elsewhere, there will be little wind.
The rest of the week and the weekend will be mostly cloudy with occasional rain and daytime temperatures well above freezing in the south, the KNMI said. The north will be cold, with temperatures around freezing and a chance of snow.
