Code Orange: Storm Benjamin to bring gusts up to 120 km/h to western NL tomorrow
The KNMI has escalated its code yellow storm warning for Thursday to a code orange in the western provinces. Storm Benjamin is forecast to bring “very strong winds” with gusts up to 120 kilometers per hour to the western coastal areas, the KNMI warned. The rest of the country can expect gusts up to 90 kilometers per hour. A code yellow warning applies there.
“Storm Benjamin will first reach the southwest, spreading across the rest of the country during the evening and overnight into Friday,” the meteorological institute said. “The wind will gradually decrease on Friday, last in the Wadden Sea area.”
The code orange warning first takes effect in Zeeland at 6:00 p.m., spreading to Zuid-Holland two hours later, and then to Noord-Holland and the IJsselmeer area at 11:00 p.m., and the Wadden Sea area at 3:00 a.m. The very strong winds should die down by noon on Friday in the Wadden Sea area, and a few hours earlier in the other coastal provinces.
A code yellow warning will apply to the rest of the country, starting in Noord-Brabant and Limburg at 8:00 and spreading to the northern provinces by 1:00 a.m.
Those in affected areas should be alert for flying debris, broken-off branches, and possibly falling trees. Traffic may also be disrupted on the roadways and railways. Strong winds typically also mean flight disruptions at Schiphol Airport. The Dutch airline KLM usually cancels a few dozen flights when the KNMI issues a storm warning.
