Western and southern parts of the country were covered with an unexpected thin layer of snow on Thursday morning, which led to slippery roads in places.

But weather experts say the chance of a white Christmas is practically zero because temperatures are forecast to rise again from Sunday.
However, with temperatures set to plummet to minus seven degrees on Friday and Saturday night, the ice will be thick enough in places to skate outdoors, the Dutch skating union says in today’s Volkskrant.
The first outdoor competitions took place on Wednesday.