Storm Eunice may be stronger than 2020's Ciara: Meteorologists

According to the latest calculations by Weer.nl, storm Eunice, which will pass over our country on Friday, could develop into a severe westerly storm with gusts up to 140 kilometers per hour. Eunice could be even stronger than the previous severe storm Ciara in 2020 and wreak havoc in coastal provinces. 

On Wednesday, the Netherlands faces storm Dudley. Although there is a strong westerly wind, it is still relatively calm during the day. The weather will change at the end of the afternoon, and the wind will get stronger. Wind force 9 could be reached at sea with gusts of about 105 kilometers per hour.

Whether Dudley will become an official storm remains to be seen. For that, there must be an average wind force 9 at a KNMI weather station above land for an hour. It will temporarily storm in several places on Wednesday evening and in the night to Thursday, but whether this will last for at least an hour is still the question, according to Weer.nl.

Storm Eunice will blow from noon on Friday. Eunice is sure to become an official storm. There will be a southwesterly storm with wind force 9 blowing along the entire west coast on Friday afternoon. In the evening, the wind will change, and Eunice will reach its peak. Wind force 10 may be measured on the west coast, with gusts of 120 to 140 kilometers per hour. There is a slight chance of wind force 11 on the Wadden. Inland will see wind force 6 to 8 with 90 to 120 kilometers per hour gusts. Eunice will calm down from the south during the night to Saturday. 

The previous severe storm in the Netherland was Ciara on 9 February 2020. Wind force 10 was measured on Vlieland and in IJmuiden, and along the coast, there were gusts up to 130 kilometers per hour. Ciara caused havoc in Europe. Several people were killed. Hundreds of flights got canceled. Roads and houses flooded. And hundreds of thousands of people were left without power. 

The strongest February storm ever measured in the Netherlands was during the flood disaster on 1 February 1953.