As people await Storm Eunice today, another storm develops for Monday

With Dudley just barely behind us, and Eunice on the way, the Netherlands may need to brace for a third storm developing. Storm Franklin may hit the Netherlands on Monday. "If the wind blows this hard again on Monday, we can speak of a triplet storm," Buienradar meteorologist Maurice Middendorp said to RTL Nieuws.

Storm Dudley was barely out of the Netherlands when Eunice's first winds showed up. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code orange warning, starting from 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Eunice brings wind force 10, maybe 11 along the coast, with gusts up to 130 kilometers per hour. This can cause a lot of damage and dangerous situations, the KNMI warned.

The wind could die down somewhat on Saturday, but gusts of up to 75 km/h are expected on Sunday, according to RTL Nieuws. Even stronger winds were predicted for Monday by WeerOnline. The westerly wind is likely to be very strong at the coast and inland, reaching up to 90 km/h. During storm showers, wind gusts are predicted to reach 100 km/h.

Three storms so close to each other is rare. The Netherlands is in this situation due to the jet stream - a powerful wind at an altitude of about 10 kilometers between the warm air around the equator and the cold air of the polar regions. The jet stream becomes more powerful the more significant the temperature difference between the north pole and the equator. Typically this jet stream reaches speeds between 100 and 250 km/h. "But now it's even more than 300 km/h," Middendorp said to the broadcaster. 

"The jet stream flows exactly over the Netherlands, and it acts as an engine for the creation of low-pressure areas. And then it's not surprising that you get several storms in succession," Middendorp said.