After almost six weeks of uninterrupted snow, ice, sleet and hail, supplies of road grit are almost completely exhausted. Several provinces, including North Holland, are only gritting main roads and bus lanes. The authorities hope that the shortage of road grit will not lead to entire areas being cut-off from the rest of the world.

It's far colder now than it was when the weather took a turn for the worse in December. The snow is sticking to the ice-cold asphalt and many roads are dangerously slippery. During the Monday morning rush hour, dozens of motorists in the centre of the country gave up and parked on the verge because it was just too dangerous to continue.

Monday’s rush hour was a record breaker - the 500 kilometres of tailbacks and traffic jams made it the busiest since the beginning of winter. Monday morning was also one of the busiest days on the roads ever. This week saw a rare weather event as well - an Arctic depression and storm, accompanied by lightning and temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius, hovered over the sea just off the Dutch coast. The last time that happened was in 1979.

Incidents
Fortunately, there haven’t been many serious incidents. Just one person has been killed in a weather-related incident since winter set in with a vengeance. Other countries, including Poland, Great Britain and Germany, have reported numerous weather-related deaths.

The first few days of snow and freezing temperatures caused havoc on the railways but the trains appear to have become accustomed to the cold and although the rail companies aren't running as many trains as normal, most of them are running almost on time.

Limits
Many people appear to have reached their psychological limit, not only because of the daily problems but also because they have finally realised that the cold and ice is going to stick around for quite a long while. The joy that greeted the first flurries of snow and the news that the Netherlands would have its first white Christmas for decades has long gone.

Meteorologists say January was the coldest month so far this century and the first with an average temperature below zero. Weather experts are also predicting that the snow and ice will continue for the coming week.

Trends
Ever increasing numbers of people are wondering whether this is the beginning of a trend instead of an unusual event. People are wondering whether winter weather records will be broken, year after year after year and if the sight of pack ice drifting ashore along the banks of the IJsselmeer will become ordinary.

It is quite likely that it will become quite ordinary to hear people complaining about the weather and longing for a return to the good old days of the late 20th century, when the winters were short and mild.