After a day of sunny spells and cloud, snow is set to return to the south of the Netherlands on Wednesday night, with up to five centimetres likely in the Limburg hills, according to weather bureau Weeronline.

The southeast of Brabant, Nijmegen region and eastern parts of Gelderland may also have a light snow cover and, given the temperature will be close to freezing point, there may be slippery conditions on some roads.

More snow is likely in the south on Thursday morning but the rest of the country will have a mix of cloud and sunny spells.

Friday and Saturday will be similar and it will be chilly during the day, with light frosts at night, the KNMI said.

The KNMI’s long term forecast is for a cloudy but dry period well into January, but the agency says the temperature patterns are difficult to determine. The KNMI does see night frosts continuing until Monday at least.