The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has issued a code orange weather warning for Noord-Brabant and Limburg, and a code yellow for almost the rest of the Netherlands as snowy and icy conditions cause disruption across the country on Thursday.
A code orange is in place for Limburg and Noord-Brabant from 7am until 12pm on January 9, after which these regions will be downgraded to a code yellow until 10am on January 10. Gelderland also has a code yellow in place for the whole of Thursday and into Friday, while the warning only applies to other areas such as Utrecht, Overijssel, Drenthe, Friesland and Groningen from 9pm on Thursday.
On Wednesday night, up to 8 centimetres of snow fell over South Limburg and 5 to 8 centimetres more is expected to fall by Thursday afternoon. Brabant and Gelderland could also see up to 3 centimetres of snowfall. The freezing snow is likely to become icy as the day continues, causing disruptions for drivers and people using public transport.
Due to icy conditions on Dutch roads on Wednesday, two people were killed in traffic accidents in the north of the Netherlands. Many people have also found themselves injured in hospital with broken bones.
For this reason, slippery roads are a major concern as more wet snow and rain are expected to fall throughout the day. The weather will start making its way out of the Netherlands by the early afternoon and head for Germany, where there is also a snow warning in place.