More icy road accidents in north Netherlands as slippery conditions persist
Icy roads continued to cause accidents in the northern provinces overnight. In Scharmer, Groningen, a line bus crashed head-on into a tree, trapping the driver inside in the freezing weather.
Firefighters had to cut the bus driver out. According to RTL Nieuws, the woman was trapped in the bus for around 90 minutes. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance. As far as is known, no passengers were on the bus at the time.
On Friday morning, a car seemingly skidded on the N7 and ended up stalled sideways in the right lane toward Westerbroek, near the Groningen Europark exit. “Expect delays and remain vigilant for slippery conditions, the infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat said on X.
Cars also went off the road in the villages of Nietap and Oudemolen in Drenthe, Leens in Groningen, and Blakbrug in Overijssel, likely due to the icy conditions.
The police are investigating the accidents.
The KNMI has a code yellow icy roads warning in place for Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Friesland, and the Wadden Islands until noon. “Snow and leftover snow can make areas slippery,” the KNMI warned. “There is a risk of accidents due to icy roads, cycle paths, sidewalks, and bridges.”
The KNMI expects around 1 centimeter of snow in the far northeast on Friday morning. By the afternoon, it will be briefly dry everywhere, and the sun may peek through the clouds. Later, cloud cover will increase in the south, with occasional light rain. Afternoon temperatures will range from around freezing in the northeast to 7 degrees Celsius in the far southwest, with a moderate southeasterly wind, which may be fairly strong in the Wadden Sea region.
Overnight will be dry, except for some occasional rain in the south. By Saturday morning, the area of precipitation will move northeast, where the rain will turn into sleet or snow. “This means there is a risk of icy conditions in the northeast.” On Saturday afternoon, it will be dry in the north, and the icy conditions will disappear. Elsewhere, there will be occasional sunshine. Maximums will range from 1 degree in the northeast to 10 degrees in the southwest.
The rest of the weekend and early next week will see quite cold weather in the north and significantly milder temperatures in the south. “Mostly cloudy with occasional rain and occasional snow in the north,” the KNMI said.
