The snow may be melting but the ice is here to stay as schools and GGD centres across the Netherlands close their doors following a code red weather warning.
While the temperatures may be rising and the snow may be melting, winter isn’t quite over yet. The Dutch Weather Institute (KNMI) has issued warnings for icy and slippery conditions across the country: on Monday, code red applies to the northern and eastern provinces, while code yellow applies to North and South Holland, North Brabant, Utrecht, and Zeeland.
The KNMI asks the public to be particularly careful on smaller roads and in residential areas where surfaces are expected to be especially slippery. These treacherous conditions mean that a number of primary schools and daycare centres across the Netherlands have decided to close their doors on Monday, stating they find it irresponsible to force teachers to travel.
For the same reason, the GGD decided to close all coronavirus testing and vaccination centres in the Netherlands on Monday morning. When centres will be reopened will be decided on a regional level, and they advise anyone who has an appointment scheduled to keep an eye on the website of their local GGD or to reschedule their appointment for another day: “No one should feel forced to venture onto the streets.”
In spite of the slippery conditions, NS resumed its regular timetable on Monday morning, after snow and ice caused disrupted train travel for a week. Luckily, NS faced no issues on Monday morning, but a spokesperson does advise travellers to consult the NS travel planner before departure to make sure their train hasn’t been cancelled or delayed.
Over the weekend, people up and down the country donned their skates and took to the ice to make the most of the final days of natuurijs (“natural ice”).
For the first time since 2018, skaters were able to take to the frozen surfaces of the Amsterdam canals, although the emergency services were kept busy as people braved ice that was not thick enough for skating - in Friesland, a car fell through the ice after the driver decided to have some fun.
After over a week of bitingly cold temperatures, some may be wondering when this winter wonderland will come to an end. The rain on Monday will lead to icy conditions, but temperatures could reach as high as six degrees in Amsterdam and seven degrees in Rotterdam. Temperatures on Tuesday will be between eight and 11 degrees.
These temperatures will sadly bring an end to the winter fun the Netherlands has enjoyed over the past few days. As for the weather for the rest of the week, you might be able to put away your winter coat this weekend as spring-like conditions are on the way this weekend.
After a grey and rainy week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday will see the sun finally emerge, bringing with it temperatures around 12 degrees in the Randstad and temperatures as high as 15 degrees in Maastricht. Weerplaza.nl expects the southeast could see temperatures reach 20 degrees on Sunday - if this happens it will be a difference of over 35 degrees over a period of just two weeks (the lowest temperature recorded was -16 in Gelderland on February 9).