Weather forecasters say sleet and snow will hit the Netherlands on Thursday and early Friday morning, as a cold front moves over from Belgium.

The snow is unlikely to stay long because the temperatures are not low enough and the ground has already warmed up considerably. Nevertheless, the KNMI says there is a ‘reasonable’ chance it may issue a weather warning about slippery conditions on the roads and the strong winds.

Although the late snow has been described by weather forecasters as ‘relatively unique’, it has snowed after March 25 on at least seven occasions in the past 70 years and on April 2008, the Netherlands actually had a white Easter.

Friday’s daytime temperature will be between 5 Celsius and 8 Celsius but it will feel chilly in the strong northeasterly winds and there may be some frost at night at the weekend.

Monday and Tuesday it will be cloudy with a high chance of rain, but some sunny spells are likely as well.