No weather phenomenon is more difficult for meteorologists to accurately predict than snow: if it falls, where, and how much. The weather computers are somewhat unanimous in their latest calculations: it will snow (sometimes heavily) on Wednesday.
Light snowfall is expected in the north of the country, while moderate snow could occur in the south of the Limburg province and in the center of the country. Heavy snowfall is possible in a band across the Walloon provinces. In the far south of the country, the weather becomes milder and the snow turns to rain.
“Most weather models show that the snow depression will follow a fairly southerly direction Thursday night. This means that it remains cold in Limburg. If something falls, it will almost certainly be snow,” explains Limburg meteorologist Ruben Weytjens.
“The question is how far north the precipitation zone is. In the south-east of Limburg and Fourons, the snow cover could thicken to more than 10 centimeters, while in the north of the province no flakes could be visible.”
“Snowflakes fall on wet, thawed ground and will therefore melt anyway. The more snow it falls, the easier it stays and the longer it will of course take before it disappears again.”
It is and remains cold enough in the Ardennes that more than 20 centimeters of snow can fall there. The snow would remain there until the weekend. It will therefore be possible to ski in our country next weekend.
Anyone working in Brussels or further south of the province must take into account a very busy morning rush hour and choose to work from home on Thursdays. Concrete decisions regarding spreading are only made at the moment.
Concrete decisions regarding spreading are only made at the moment. — © Marc Herremans – Corelio
Code yellow
With the winter weather coming, it’s also scary to look at the road. The RMI issues a nationwide code yellow for slippery roads, initially from Tuesday at 5 p.m. to Wednesday at 10 a.m. To avoid dangerous situations there, the Roads and Traffic Agency (AWV) has its own digital system to make predictions and intervene where necessary. “First of all, thanks to infrared cameras and sensors installed on roads and cycle paths, we have our own data,” explains Katrien Kiekens, spokesperson for the AWV. “For example, they give us information about the temperature of the roadway, how much precipitation has fallen and how much salt is still there. »
“We combine our own information with RMI forecasts. We thus obtain a fairly precise forecast for the whole of Flanders. We monitor this 24 hours a day, with people monitoring everything even at night. We do it this way because we want to expand before it gets slippery, but not too far in advance. You have to be quick with the ball. » Everything will be closely monitored in the coming days, but concrete decisions regarding spreading will only be made when there is concrete data on where it seems necessary.
