Published on: January 22, 2026, 4:40 PM
Road users in the provinces of Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, and the Wadden area should expect slippery and hazardous driving conditions due to freezing rain from the night of January 22 until the end of the morning of Friday, January 23, 2026. The KNMI has issued an orange weather alert for this.
Slippery conditions caused by freezing rain are often difficult to see, resulting in dangerous driving situations. The urgent advice for road users in the affected provinces is: do not drive unless necessary.
KNMI Forecast
During the night from Thursday, January 22 to Friday morning, January 23, a zone of light rain will move northeast across the northern part of the country. The KNMI has issued an orange alert for the provinces of Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, and the Wadden area due to slippery conditions.
For the provinces of North Holland, Flevoland, Gelderland, and Overijssel, a yellow alert applies. There, short periods of slippery roads may also occur due to freezing of wet roads.
Slippery Road Treatment
To combat slippery conditions, Rijkswaterstaat deploys gritters. The emergency machines, the Lavastorm and the Firestorm, are also used during freezing rain. On the website Rijkswaterstaat Strooit, you can see where the gritters are operating and where salting has taken place. The site also shows how much salt has been spread.
Advice to Road Users
- Check weather and traffic information before departure. Via the Rijkswaterstaat Traffic Information website, we share the current road situation.
- Be well prepared before traveling.
- Adjust your driving style to the conditions, keep sufficient distance, and avoid unnecessary lane changes.
- Give gritters space.