Strong wind gusts of 90 km/h expected in the Netherlands; Thunder and hail on Tuesday

Periodic gusts of wind reaching up to 90 kilometers per hour were expected in the Netherlands on Monday afternoon. The predicted strong winds prompted the Dutch meteorological service, KNMI, to issue a Code Yellow weather warning covering the entire country. More alerts are possible on Tuesday, when strong winds, thunderstorms and hail are likely.

The strongest winds are expected along the North Sea coast and at sea. The western provinces of Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, and Zeeland will be under the warning for three hours starting at 1 p.m. Noord-Brabant will also be under the Code Yellow watch from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., while the provinces of Utrecht, Flevoland and Friesland will be under alert from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The alert will tentatively begin an hour later in the five provinces along the eastern border. The entire country should emerge from the alert by 6 p.m., though it is expected to remain particularly windy overnight.

Although the wind gusts of 90 km/h are expected at the coast, the peak should be around 75 km/h more inland. The wind is likely to accompany rain showers as well. "Traffic and outdoor activities may be affected by the heavy gusts of wind," the KNMI said.

The daytime high temperature is expected to be around 14 degrees Celsius in the north, and 15 degrees in the southern provinces. Though the wind will initially come from the south, this will shift from the west ahead of the weather warning. The skies should clear up later in the evening, though showers are still expected in the northeast and east.

A very windy day is again predicted for Tuesday, though a dryer morning is expected. There could even be occasional sunshine before the predicted thunder and hail in the afternoon.

Moving forward, the weather will be increasingly variable around the long-term average of about 9.5 degrees Celsius during the day, and 4.3 degrees overnight. "Sunday in particular will be mild with quite a bit of wind," the KNMI stated. "No warnings are expected from Wednesday, for the time being."