03-02-2012

Through this week day and nightime temperatures here in The Hague have been dropping. Thursday night ground temperatures dropped to -7C, and as Friday dawned the darkening skies heralded that snow was on its way. Just before lunchtime and for around 2 hours snow fell on the already frozen ground. Leading to very dangerous conditions for pedestrians and drivers... there was also a marked decline in the number of cyclists braving the conditions.

 It is not only the UK where things can grind to a halt in extreme weather as evidenced by the report below from Dutch News

No trains in Utrecht and Amsterdam as snow chaos continues

Friday 03 February 2012

The heavy snow in the Netherlands on Friday led to chaos on the roads and serious disruption to train services, with no rush hour trains to and from Utrecht and Amsterdam. Elsewhere there were far fewer trains than normal.

At the height of the problems on the road, there were 830 km of traffic jams, making Friday the fourth-worst day on the roads ever.

Rail users organisation Rover said the problems with trains were ‘ridiculous and unacceptable’. Despite the warnings snow was on its way, Dutch Rail (NS) was unable to cope, Rover pointed out.

Up to 14 cm of snow fell in some places, causing serious problems on the roads. By 16.00 hours, some 900 accidents on minor and provincial roads had been reported and the ANWB motoring organisation urged people in central parts of the country not to drive.

Public transport was also affected in The Hague and Amsterdam and some flights from Schiphol were delayed or cancelled.

Skaters rescued as unreliable ice gives way

Friday 03 February 2012
At least 10 people have been rescued after sinking through the ice on the Ankeveense lakes near Hilversum, local paper Gooi- en Eemlander reports.
Hundreds of skaters have flocked to the popular skating area but experts warn the ice is still very unreliable in places. In addition, the snow makes it difficult to see where the ice is weak.
Elsewhere, a number of skaters have been brought to safety from the Ooij polder near Nijmegen. A 35-year-old man has been taken to hospital suffering from exposure.
The snow also caused the cancellation of the first outdoor skating route on the Blokzijler lakes, which had been set for Sunday. The snow has made it impossible to see which parts of the lake should be avoided, according to website schaatsen.nl