Several provinces in Belgium are preparing themselves for the heavily anticipated snowfall on Wednesday, which is expected to disrupt mobility. Code red has been issued for slipperiness for one province.
Snow lovers got their hopes up earlier this week when it looked like at least 10 centimetres of snow would fall in the centre of the country, including Brussels. This part of the country usually misses out on such heavy snowfall. However, this prediction has since been revised, with just 1-5 cm of snow expected in the capital and surrounding areas.
However, other provinces are likely to be battered by snow in the coming hours, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) said.
Where to expect the most snowfall
"The most intense precipitation will affect the southeastern half of the country but nuisance may occur almost everywhere. Limit your movements if possible," it added. Snowfall will be intense to the South of the Sambre and Meuse, especially in the afternoon.
In large parts of Flanders southeast, 1-5 cm is still expected, but locally this could be 5-10 cm, possibly also in the Brussels-Capital Region. Higher up in Flanders, it will dry earlier in the day but remain slippery due to night frost. From Hainaut to the Kempen in Flanders, regular snowfall is expected, especially from noon onwards.
In Wallonia, most of the snow seems to be located around a wide zone from the region of Mons-Beaumont (Hainaut) to the region of Saint Vith-Liège (Liège), where between 10 and locally 25 cm may fall, but also temporarily wet snow.
Credit: Belga
In the extreme south of the country, 30-40 mm of snow is expected to fall between now and Thursday morning, but this snow will quickly turn into sleet or freezing rain. On the other hand, at sea, there will be little or no precipitation, and maximum temperatures will even go above 0°C.
The RMI on Wednesday issued a code red for slipperiness for the province of Luxembourg, which will run from 06:00 on Wednesday morning until noon on Thursday. During this period, intense and widespread black ice is expected because the first precipitation will turn into freezing rain in many places
"Continue to monitor weather reports with attention. The impact on traffic could be significant in some areas," RMI noted. The other provinces in Wallonia remain in code orange for slipperiness. For Flanders, code yellow applies except at the coast, where code green remains.
Nuisance to mobility
Due to predicted heavy snowfall and freezing rain in the south of the country, some P-trains (which only run during peak hours) in the regions of Namur, Charleroi, Jemelle, Mons and Liège will not run on Wednesday 17 January, national railway operator SNCB said.
"Although SNCB and Infrabel are working closely together to limit the impact of these weather conditions on your journey, disruptions are still possible throughout the network, especially in the south of the country."
Translation: Wednesday 17/01: chance of heavy snowfall & sleet. Some P-trains to and from Namur/Jemelle & Charleroi will not run. Plan your journey just before your departure via http://nmbs.be or the SNCB app.
Brussels Airport warned passengers of possible delays due to the de-icing of aircraft and runways. On Wednesday afternoon, traffic was relatively normal but some flights have been cancelled. Passengers have been urged to take into account that road traffic to and from Zaventem airport may be difficult.
At Schiphol near Amsterdam, several flights were cancelled or delayed due to the weather while in Germany hundreds of planes remain grounded due to the winter weather.
The Walloon public transport company TEC also diverted or cancelled only a few (bus) lines. In Luxembourg, bus traffic is completely halted
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn is experiencing disruption in several places in Flanders, especially the provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Buses here are delayed by up to half an hour. In some places, certain stops are temporarily not served and buses are therefore running via a diversion. Travellers have been asked to check De Lijn's site for more information.
Credit: Belga
In anticipation of the significant snowfall announced for Wednesday, the traffic crisis unit, comprising the Walloon Regional Crisis Centre, the federal road police and the Perex Traffic Centre, decided to launch the warning phase for road traffic from 06:00 in the morning on Wednesday.
The warning phase aims to maintain mobility through the use of complementary means: the recall of towing and tow vehicles, specific treatment of high-risk ramps and the strengthening of gritting operations. It also enables the mobilisation of additional police forces.
All motorists are asked to "adjust their speed, avoid sudden manoeuvres, maintain sufficient distance from the vehicle in front, provide the necessary equipment (snow tyres), carefully check the condition of their vehicle and avoid overtaking gritting vehicles".
Several schools in Flanders closed their doors on Wednesday for a snow day due to the wintry weather.
