# Storm Austen fuels third-busiest Friday rush hour of 2026

> Rijkswaterstaat says branches on the road have caused no problems so far, but the bad weather packed Friday's afternoon rush hour with 526 km of jams on national roads.

News · published 2026-10-23 17:32 · https://nlnow.nl/a/storm-austen-fuels-third-busiest-friday-rush-hour-of-2026/

Storm Austen brought heavy traffic but limited disruption to Dutch roads on Friday, Rijkswaterstaat said. Some branches are lying on the road, but they have caused no problems so far.

At the peak, at 16:00, Rijkswaterstaat counted 526km of jams on national roads. A spokeswoman called it the third-busiest Friday afternoon rush hour this year. Rijkswaterstaat and the ANWB both blame the heavy traffic on the bad weather.

**Only two Friday rush hours this year had longer jams than Friday's** (km of traffic jams; source: Rijkswaterstaat)

- 22 May: 617
- 25 September: 547
- Friday: 526

The ANWB, which counts jams on all roads rather than only national ones, recorded 777km at around 16:45. NS also reported delays because of the weather.

## Background

- **ANWB (Algemene Nederlandsche Wielrijders-Bond)**: The Dutch motoring and cycling association. It offers roadside assistance, travel services and insurance, tests products such as child car seats, and speaks for road users.
- **Rijkswaterstaat**: The Rijkswaterstaat is the Dutch national agency for water and roads, part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. It builds, manages and maintains the main motorways and national roads, the major waterways, and the flood defences such as dykes and storm barriers. In news reports it is often the source for traffic conditions and road disruption on the national road network.

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