UPDATEToday you must pay attention to (wet) snow and locally possibly slippery roads and cycle paths. According to the RMI, a snow carpet of several centimeters is possible, especially in the Ardennes. In Flanders, code yellow applies for slippery conditions until Tuesday night in Antwerp, Limburg and Flemish Brabant. The gritting services were deployed preventively everywhere in Flanders last night.
08:33
Exceptionally many traffic jams on the Flemish main roads
At around 8:30 am there was 234.8 kilometers of traffic jams on the Flemish main roads. That is exceptional according to the traffic jam barometer. The difficult morning rush hour may have to do with the weather conditions. In the meantime, traffic jams are decreasing, although there are still relatively many traffic jams.
08:14
Weatherman Frank Duboccage: “A white layer may also form in Flanders today, a clearer snow zone will be heading our way on Wednesday”
Some winter showers on the menu today. “In the center and the east these are snow showers, in the west they are more likely to be showers of rain or grain hail,” says weatherman Frank Duboccage in his most recent weather update. “Especially in the center and the east is the pay attention blown if you have to go on the road, because it will be slippery in places.”
“During the passage of heavy snow showers, for example, also a white layer in Flanders be formed,” said the weatherman. Duboccage points out that it will become milder in Flanders throughout the day. “We are heading towards three degrees, so it will more likely involve showers of rain, grain hail or melting snow. The snow layer will also largely disappear.”
The weather experts mainly look at: Wednesday. “There will be one on Wednesday snow zone in our direction and it is starting to become clearer that it will not only snow in the Ardennes, but also in Flanders. In terms of snow quantities, you should think of 0 to 2 centimeters in the northwest of the country, but a little further south – in a line from Ghent towards Limburg – it will pass. 4 to 10 centimeters of fresh snow. You can expect just a little more near the language border.”
“The Ardennes can expect the most snow on Wednesday: 5 to 10 centimeters, up to the High Fens even 20 centimeters fresh snow. If you add what falls today and tonight, there could be a layer of snow by Thursday morning about 30 centimeters.”
06:31
Chance of slippery roads and cycle paths throughout Flanders
The Roads and Traffic Agency (AWV) warns of potentially slippery roads and cycle paths locally. The RMI still predicts a chance of winter precipitation in parts of Flanders in the coming hours. The gritting services were deployed preventively everywhere in Flanders last night. A total of 9,640 km of roads and cycle paths were gritted. 1,200 tons of salt were used.
The roads are currently in relatively good condition. It is mainly pay attention at the border with the Netherlands and eastern Limburgwhere there is still snow on the road can lie.
Slippery conditions may also occur locally in the rest of Flanders. Temperatures are currently around freezing point and will continue to drop slightly until this afternoon. We may then see rising temperatures with possibly melting snow.
AWV also states that everyone can report local (winter) showers via the KMI app. The information helps the winter service to assess the risks of slippery conditions even more precisely.
LOOK. There is already a thin layer of snow in Pelt on Monday morning:
06:11
What can we expect from the winter weather?
On Sunday, King Winter covered Flanders with a first layer of snow, and this also seems to be the case in the following days. Especially today and certainly on Wednesday, snowfall could even cause problems.
How many centimeters of snow can we expect in the coming days? And how long will the frigid temperatures last? “A lot of snow may fall on Wednesday due to an intense precipitation zone”, says our weather analyst Nicolas Roose. Read more here (+)
05:44
Weather forecast Monday
Today it will be variable to heavily cloudy with winter showers. Most showers fall in the northeastern half of the country. In Central Belgium there are more likely to be showers of melting snow or even snow, In the Ardennes we expect several centimeters of fresh snow. It is often dry in the west and southwest.
The maximum temperatures are between -3 degrees in the High Fens, between -1 and +1 degrees in the Ardennes and between +1 and +3 degrees in the other regions. The wind is often moderate from west to west-northwest. At the sea the wind is quite strong to sometimes strong from the northwest.
Tonight it will be variable to sometimes heavily cloudy with showers that will mainly affect the northeastern half of the country. We expect snow inland and in the Ardennes. It will be dry in the regions near the French border. During the course of the night, the tendency to shower will gradually decrease and it will also become largely dry in the center.
At the end of the night it is dry everywhere. The minimum temperatures are between -4 and -8 degrees in the Ardennes, between -2 and -5 degrees in the center and around 0 or -1 degrees at the sea. The moderate westerly wind sometimes becomes weak from the southwest. In the Coastal Region the wind is first quite strong from the northwest and later moderate from the west.
Code yellow for slippery roads
The RMI therefore warns of slippery roads in various provinces. In Flanders, code yellow applies for the time being until Tuesday in Antwerp, Limburg and Flemish Brabant. The same applies to Brussels. The warning for slippery roads has been in effect since Saturday evening in the Walloon provinces of Liège, Namur and Luxembourg. Walloon Brabant now joins that group.
Sunny periods
Tuesday promises to be a calm and dry day with beautiful sunny periods. In the Ardennes it may first be gray in the morning with a chance of freezing fog, but then clear skies will develop there as well. The maximum temperatures are between 0 and -4 degrees south of Sambre and Meuse, around +1 degree in the center and +3 degrees in the coastal region. The wind is usually moderate from the southwest inland and comes from westerly directions near the sea.
Large amounts of snow on the way?
Wednesday we are dealing with an active disruption from France that is completely or partially moving across our country. The exact scenario is still uncertain for the time being as the disturbance is accompanied by noticeably softer air over France while cold air is maintained over the Netherlands.
We may experience snow in Flanders at temperatures around (or slightly below) freezing. The most snow would fall in the south and/or the center of the country. Temporary (freezing) rain is possible in the far south. The wind is blowing moderately and shrinking to the east to northeast.
Thursday starts mainly in the southeast with a lot of clouds and snow, elsewhere there are already broad clear skies and it is often dry. We are gradually seeing a lot of sun everywhere and it remains largely dry, except for a (winter) shower.
The chance of this is greatest in the coastal region and near the Dutch border. The maximum temperatures fluctuate between -2 and -5 degrees at the Ardennes heights, between +1 and +3 degrees on the coast and in the north of Flanders, and around or slightly below freezing point where there is snow. The wind blows moderately and at sea quite strong or sometimes strong from north to northwest, later shrinking to west to northwest.
LOOK. Is there really a lot of snow on the way? “There are major differences between the weather models”
“That is a big question mark,” says weatherman Frank Duboccage. “There is snow in the air, but where will the snow fall? There are major differences between the weather models. The European model mainly predicts a lot of snow in the Ardennes – up to more than 20 centimeters of snow – and then it would remain largely dry in Flanders. The American weather model calculates that snow further north and then you get a lot of snow in Flanders. The quantities are difficult to estimate, but it would still turn white in many places.”
READ ALSO. What can we expect from the winter weather? “A small shift in the snow zone has major consequences” (+)
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