One to three centimetres of snow is expected to fall in Belgium on Sunday, which has led to the Road and Traffic Agency's recommendation to postpone (unnecessary) trips for the time being, as the roads can be very slippery.
The temperatures dropped below zero again last night, and during the day a precipitation zone is expected to move across Belgium from west to east. While the precipitation will initially fall as snow (possibly 1-3 cm), it will turn into (freezing) rain over the course of the day – meaning it can become dangerously slippery due to icy conditions.
"In the south of the country, there will be light snowfall and quantities will remain limited," the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) said on its website.
The chance of slippery roads is greatest in the west of the country (provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders), but the RMI has issued a yellow warning for all of Flanders, Brussels and the provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant and Liège for slippery conditions from 09:00 to 01:00 on Sunday night.
Currently, road surface temperatures below zero are being measured in all Belgian provinces. When rain falls on a frozen road surface, it forms black ice – making the road dangerously slippery.
Due to the slippery roads, the Roads and Traffic Agency calls people to postpone unnecessary trips in the coming hours. Here, too, the warning mainly applies to the West Flanders and East Flanders provinces, but also to all zones where precipitation falls. Last night, the gritting services rolled out again and used 504 tonnes of grit.
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For the first time this winter, the Winter Action Protocol (WAP) is being activated. This is an intensive collaboration between the Roads and Traffic Agency, the Federal Road Police, the RMI, De Lijn, the Flemish Traffic Centre, the provincial authorities, the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG), the Cyclists' Union, VAB and Touring, among others. The aim is to quickly exchange information for increased road safety.
On Saturday, a thin layer of snow fell in some places along Belgium's coast, mainly in the cities of Blankenberge and Ostend.
For the first time this season, some ski slopes also opened in the East of the country. Thanks to the amount of snow that has fallen in recent days, cross-country skiing is possible at the Herzebösch winter sports centre in Elsenborn (in the municipality of Bütgenbach) this weekend; there are slopes of two and five kilometres.
