Hot & Stormy: 32°C tomorrow, but lightning, flooding, 100 km/h gusts at night

The week starts off warm and sunny in the Netherlands, with maximums climbing to 32 degrees in Limburg tomorrow. That changes on Tuesday evening, when thunderstorms with lightning, downpours, hail, and winds up to 100 kilometers per hour will move across the country. The meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning for the entire country.

This morning and afternoon will see long periods of sunshine mixed in with some clouds. No rain is expected, and maximums will range between 19 degrees Celsius in the Wadden area and 23 degrees in the southeast. This evening will be cloudy but dry.

Overnight, there may be some light rain in the northwest, but the rest of the country will remain dry. Minimums will drop to around 15 degrees.

Tuesday will also be sunny and dry in the morning and afternoon. The day will be wonderfully warm, with maximums ranging between 24 degrees on the Wadden islands and 32 degrees in the southeast.

In the late afternoon, thunderstorms will enter the country from the southwest, bringing with them strong winds up to 100 kilometers per hour, hail up to 4 centimeters large, and heavy downpours, with up to 40 millimeters of rain falling in a short time. The storms will move across the country from southwest to northeast and leave for Germany in the early hours of Wednesday.

“Lightning strikes, flooding, blown over objects and trees, and large hailstones can cause damage and nuisance,” the KNMI said. “The thunderstorms can be especially dangerous for outdoor activities.”

The code yellow warning first takes effect in Noord-Brabant, Zeeland, and Zuid-Holland at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday and gradually progresses across the country along with the storms. It takes effect in the northern and eastern provinces at 9:00 p.m. The worst weather should be over by 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

From Wednesday, the rest of the week will be cooler, but with lots of room for sunshine and little rain expected. There may be more rain, and possibly thunderstorms, on Friday, the KNMI said.