Snow and strong winds brought disruption to the roads in central parts of the Netherlands on Sunday afternoon. Rail services were also disrupted and dozens of flights cancelled.

The KNMI weather bureau issued a code orange warning for most of the country as strong winds and snow caused blizzards and drifting. In southern areas, there is a serious risk of black ice on the roads, the KNMI said.

Dutch Rail reduced services on Sunday in an effort to stop the network seizing up and will operate fewer trains on Monday as well. Passengers are being warned to expect full trains and more stopovers.

Flights

At Schiphol airport, passengers were warned to expect delays and cancellations because of the snow. Airline KLM cancelled over 60 flights to other European destinations as snow and wind caused problems at airports all over the continent.

Although transport ministry gritters and snow ploughs are out in force, motoring organisations expect the remaining snow will cause lengthy traffic jams during Monday’s rush hour.

Last week’s snowfall led to a record 1,000 kms of jams.