Traffic ground to a halt around Amsterdam during Wednesday’s rush hour as snow and freezing temperatures brought chaos to the roads once again.

Some 10cm of snow fell in Noord Holland province, crippling Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and causing some 180km of traffic jams around the capital.

Train services between Amsterdam, Leiden, Alkmaar and Haarlem were cancelled because of points problems. Some bus services were also scrapped and delays are set to continue into the night, a spokesman for bus firm Connexxion told news agency ANP.

Air travel
At Schiphol airport, just one runway was open for a time and aircraft were finding it very hard to land. ‘There is very poor visibility. Many airlines decided earlier to avoid Amsterdam because of the weather prospects,’ a spokesman told ANP.
Air travellers are again being advised to contact their airline before beginning their journey.
The ANWB motoring organisation is warning drivers to be extra careful this evening, because gritting and snow clearance crews have been hampered by the traffic jams.
Overnight, more snow will fall in places, with mist possible in the south as the skies clear. Temperatures will go down to -5 Celsius overnight, and remain below freezing on Thursday. Friday will be very cold, the KNMI weather bureau said.
Skating
Meanwhile, the rescue services have stopped their efforts to find two skaters, thought missing on the IJsselmeer lake while skating from Marken to Monnickendam. Divers, helicopters and boats were involved in the search but it now appears the couple made it to dry land.
The KNSB skating organisation has been warning for days that the ice on large open stretches of water is still very unreliable, despite the freezing temperatures. Skaters are being urged to stay in areas where the ice thickness has been checked by local ice clubs.
Some 1,400 people were expected to turn up for the first open ice tour of the season on the Henschotermeer east of Utrecht on Wednesday afternoon, where the ice has reached 12 cm.
Enthusiasts also hope to be able to organise the first walks over the ice in the Wadden Sea for 14 years this weekend. It is rare that ice forms in the sea because the water temperature has to dip below -4 Celsius.
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