The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has issued a code yellow weather warning with heavy gusts of wind expected across the Netherlands on December 6. The strong winds have already caused cancelled flights and disruptions to both car and train traffic.
The KNMI issued a code yellow weather warning for almost the whole of the Netherlands, with Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg being the only exceptions. From 7am until 1pm on Friday, December 6, the country can expect strong winds reaching speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour inland and possibly even 100 km/h on the coast. The Wadden Islands could even see 120 km/h wind gusts.
According to the KNMI, residents should expect traffic disruptions, especially for cyclists and drivers of trucks and cars with trailers, and should stay alert as tree branches could break off and cause dangerous situations.
Winds have indeed caused disruptions with more than 100 flights at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam cancelled due to the strong winds hitting the Netherlands on Friday morning.
The Dutch airport urges passengers to take delays and cancellations into account and to make sure they keep up to date on the latest flight information.
With trees and branches breaking off and causing obstructions, public transport in the Netherlands has also been affected. Some debris was blown onto the train tracks in several places causing train disruptions. "The disruption has been resolved and the service will be resumed," the NS reported at around 9am.
Drivers should keep an eye on traffic reports as there have also been several road closures and traffic detours caused by the stormy weather. For example, trucks and cars travelling with trailers between Lelystad and Enkhuizen must take a detour via Amsterdam as the Markerwaarddijk is closed to these vehicles from 8am due to the wind.
The wind will die down by the early afternoon of Friday, but residents won’t have too long to enjoy the quiet as more stormy weather is expected to hit on Saturday.
According to the NOS, an offshoot of Storm Darragh will brush the Netherlands on December 7 after causing quite an upheaval in Ireland earlier in the week. It might not reach a full storm over the Netherlands, but Weeronline.nl predicts strong winds with rain showers.
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