The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has issued a Code Yellow warning for disruption on Thursday across the Netherlands, as Storm Ciarán is set to make landfall in the country. The storm, which has been brewing over the Atlantic in the past few days, is set to bring heavy rain, strong winds and the risk of flooding to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, before heading to the Netherlands on Thursday. A Code Orange weather warning has been issued for the provinces of Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland and Zeeland.
While the storm will hit the UK with more force than here in the Netherlands, the weather authorities in the Netherlands have issued a Code Yellow warning, with specific mention of strong winds on Thursday. For those who work on the sea, or at the port in Rotterdam, there could also be disruptions to shipping traffic as the North Sea is expected to be rough due to the weather.
The coastal areas such as the Wadden Islands and Zeeland will also be particularly affected by the wind, as well as those located near the coast in North and South Holland. The advice from the weather bureau is to be careful and expect falling branches or objects flying from rooves.
In order to minimise the risk created by the volatile weather, it is useful to monitor the situation via an app or by following updates from the KNMI. This way, you can get up-to-date advice about the current weather situation and can take action if the danger level is raised to Code Orange or even Red.
According to the KNMI, wind gusts can be expected to reach up to 75 km / h on land in the Netherlands. This increases to 90 km / h at sea, near the Dutch coast. Though coastal areas will receive the strongest winds, the rest of the country should expect heavy rain throughout the day on Thursday.
The only areas in the country that are set to have lower risk are Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel - three provinces located in the northeast of the country, mostly sheltered from the winds battering the West coast. In these three provinces, there is currently a Code Green in place, meaning that there is no weather warning in place - but be sure to check on the KNMI website for the most up-to-date information, and what to do if the situation becomes worse.
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