Dense fog causes 996 km of traffic jams and Schiphol delays in the Netherlands

Fog covers most of the country

The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) issued a yellow warning for dense fog covering almost the whole country on 10 November. The warning was widened during the night of 9 to 10 November and runs until at least 12.00. Visibility is generally below 200 metres, but in some places it has dropped to under 30 metres. Only the southwest, Zeeland, South Limburg and the Wadden islands are largely spared. In Friesland the ANWB reported visibility under 70 metres in some places, while the traffic service warned of extremely dense fog in Drenthe, where visibility was put at 30 metres, and in Flevoland, where it was put at 20 to 30 metres.

Traffic at the morning peak

At 08.00 the Netherlands counted 201 traffic jams with a combined length of 996 kilometres. A normal Tuesday morning usually brings 400 to 500 kilometres of congestion, so the fog has pushed the figure well above that range. Most jams last around 30 minutes, but the A16 between Breda and Rotterdam faced 62 minutes of delay after an accident, and the A50 between Oss and Arnhem had more than an hour of queues in both directions. An overnight closure on the A28 between Amersfoort and Zwolle could not be cleared because of the fog, while the opposite direction on the same stretch had a 30-minute jam caused by an accident.

A16 Breda to Rotterdam62

A28 other direction (Zwolle to Amersfoort)30

A16 Breda to Rotterdam

62 minutes

A28 other direction (Zwolle to Amersfoort)

30 minutes

Data from the article text

An ANWB spokesperson explained the volume by pointing to the day and the weather together.

“Tuesday is the busiest working day of the week. In combination with this fog, it is logical that there are this many traffic jams.”

The morning is the second in a row in which weather has disrupted the commute. Motorists are advised to double the distance to the vehicle ahead, halve their speed and switch on front fog lights when visibility is under 200 metres, with rear fog lights added below 50 metres.

Flights at Schiphol

Schiphol reported delays and a number of cancellations on the morning of 10 November, a spokeswoman said. Poor visibility has led to limits on the number of flights that can operate. The airport expected the fog to lift around 09.00, when those restrictions would also end. Arrivals were the main problem, with delays ranging from about ten minutes to more than an hour, according to the airport's website.

Timeline and outlook

The key times of the morning run from the overnight widening of the warning to its scheduled end at 12.00, as shown below.

The ANWB expected the mist to lift gradually over the morning in many places, but in the northeast of the country it could take much longer. The fog of 9 November cleared sooner than forecasters had predicted, while the warning this time reaches a larger area.