The temperature fell to as low as -10.2° in the Utrecht village of Cabauw overnight, marking the first officially heavy frost of the winter. The temperature also fell to -10° in Gilze en Rijen in Noord-Brabant and Herwijnen in Gelderland, weather bureau Weeronline said on Tuesday.

Coastal provinces will be hit by snow showers on Tuesday, but there may also be rain and sleet, Weeronline said. The east of the country will remain dry with plenty of sunshine and temperatures between the freezing point and 4°.

The wintry weather is set to continue until Wednesday, when more heavy snow and strong winds are expected, Weeronline said. Some three to five centimetres of snow will fall over large parts of the country and it could feel as cold as -5° to -10° when taking the wind chill factor into account.

The winds could also reach between 75 and 90 kph in the Wadden Sea area.

By Wednesday evening the thaw could set in in the north-western part of the country, but the roads will remain treacherous as sleet and snow freeze on impact.

There may also be regional snow showers on Thursday and Friday, although the snow may also turn to rain as the weekend approaches, Weeronline said. The weekend, the agency said, is also difficult to forecast but by next week, temperatures will start rising again to around 5°.

The KNMI, which has called a code yellow weather warning until Thursday, suggests there will be a mix of rain and snow over the weekend and that Sunday in particular will be cold.