Code Yellow warning issued for more heavy thunderstorms; Lightning strike fires injured two

Heavy thunderstorms were predicted to hit the northeastern provinces of the Netherlands on Saturday, with downpours, hail, and wind speeds of up to 60 km/h expected in the provinces of Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen and Overijssel. A code yellow weather warning was in effect from 1 p.m. through 10 p.m. for the four provinces, national meteorological agency KNMI said, with conditions expected to abate over the course of the night.

The KNMI has cautioned residents in the four provinces affected by code yellow that traffic and outdoor activities may be hindered by the erratic conditions. They further advise that people in those provinces to avoid open bodies water and open area generally and to not hide under trees.

Following several days of rain and cloud cover, the Netherlands is expected to see increased temperatures on Saturday, with the mercury expected to reach as high as 26 degrees Celsius. Temperatures forecasts for Sunday show that the Netherlands will likely become slightly cooler again, dropping down to around 22 degrees.

"Supercell" lightning: Two hurt, chicken farm largely destroyed

A great deal of lightning and heavy thunderstorms also blew across the southern provinces Friday night and early Saturday morning, according to the KNMI. One meteorologist from Buienradar told RTL Nieuws that it developed into a supercell in Limburg, with flashes of lightning every few seconds and a storm that dumped buckets of rain which totaled 30 millimeters in some places.

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Lightning was believed to be the cause of a house fire in Beugen, Noord-Brabant which sent two people to the hospital in the early morning hours on Saturday. Both people were treated for smoke inhalation. The house was heavily damaged, according to newspaper AD.

Another lightning strike may have caused a fire at a poultry farm in Barneveld, Gelderland just after 3 a.m. Firefighters there said that the "large fire raged through several chicken barns." Of the five 90-meter-long barns on site, four of them were totally destroyed.

Only a few hundred chickens survived, the fire department told broadcaster NOS.