The wintry weather overnight has led to extremely slippery conditions on some roads on Friday morning and the KNMI weather bureau has issued a nationwide code yellow weather alert.

The snow – up to 10 centimetres in parts of Groningen – created particular problems in the north during the night, where the KNMI upped its warning to code amber.

The busy A9 motorway in Noord Holland was also blocked in both directions near Schoorl because of black ice, which had to be removed by spraying it with salted water.

The freezing conditions on Friday morning will be compounded in coastal regions by strong winds from the northwest which may bring more sleet and hail. The wind will also make it feel chillier than it actually is, the KNMI said.

On Saturday the temperature will hover around 0° but the sun may break through in the morning. In the afternoon it will slowly become warmer and rain is likely.

By Sunday, however, the temperature will shoot up again, reaching around 13° in the north and as much as 17° in the south is a real possibility, the KNMI said.

Monday and the rest of the week will see temperatures around 10° with a mixture of sunshine and showers.