Icy Dutch rain to cause “treacherously slippery” conditions, warns KNMI
By Simone Jacobs
With freezing temperatures and rain expected across the Netherlands on Tuesday, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has warned of “treacherously slippery” conditions due to black ice. A code orange has been issued in the north and a code yellow is in place for the rest of the country.
Dutch weather warning issued for slippery conditions
KNMI has issued a code orange weather warning for slippery conditions in the Dutch provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland, as well as the Wadden Islands. A code yellow is also in place for North Holland, South Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, North Brabant, Limburg, Flevoland and Overijssel.
The code yellow applies for the whole of the Netherlands, with the exception of Zeeland, from 12pm on Tuesday, February 3, into Wednesday morning. The code orange for the northern provinces is in place from 10pm on Tuesday until 10am on Wednesday.
According to KNMI, black ice expected across the country creates a risk for slippery conditions. “This poses a risk of accidents in many places due to slippery roads, cycle paths, footpaths, and bridges.”
Freezing rain then changeable weather in the Netherlands
Tuesday has started off cold, dry and windy, with temperatures dropping to a frosty -5 degrees celsius and the wind chill reaching as low as -15 degrees. Rain will start falling in the south in the morning and move up across the Netherlands throughout the day, causing slippery conditions.
As the afternoon approaches, the mercury will rise to a maximum of 2 degrees in the centre and up to 7 degrees in the south of the country. Freezing rain and slippery conditions could last into Wednesday morning, especially in the northern provinces.
Wednesday is expected to be warmer in the central and southern regions, with temps hitting highs of up to 11 degrees, while the north will warm more slowly, rising to just 2 degrees in the afternoon. Thursday will see colder weather make a comeback, with temperatures ranging between 0 and 6 degrees.
The rest of the week will be changeable with a high chance of more significant temperature differences between the north and south, reports Weeronline.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more