Storm Poly the first ever severe summer storm in the Netherlands; Wind gust of 146 km/h

Storm Poly, which raged across our country on Wednesday morning, is the first very severe summer storm ever to hit the Netherlands. It thus set a record as the heaviest summer storm ever measured, according to Weeronline.

A wind gust of 146 kilometers per hour was measured in IJmuiden on Wednesday morning. So far, this is also the strongest wind gust ever recorded in the summer in the Netherlands.

In IJmuiden, wind force 11 was measured for an hour between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Wednesday, up from wind force 9 the previous hour. With this level, a weather system is officially categorized as a very severe storm. Poly will therefore go down in the record books as the first very severe summer storm ever, and the fiercest summer storm ever.

Such strong summer storms are very rare, according to Weeronline. "A very severe summer storm like today is therefore unique," the weather website said on Wednesday.

The previous severe storm hit the Netherlands on January 18, 2018. The last time there was a severe storm during the summer months was on July 25, 2015, though a less aggressive storm also hit on August 26, 2020. During the 2015 storm, the most powerful wind gust was 122 kilometers per hour, which was also measured in IJmuiden.

A weather area is officially considered a storm when the average wind speed measured at at least one KNMI station reaches wind force 9 for over a full hour. Wednesday's storm is called Poly, a name given by German meteorologists. If a storm has an impact in the Netherlands and has already been given a name by another European group, the Netherlands will adopt this name, according to the KNMI.

Officially, a winter storm also reached the Netherlands on March 13. Last year, storms were measured on five different dates: January 31, February 6, February 16, February 18 and February 20.

The storm of February 18 was called Eunice and reached wind force 10. Wind gusts of 145 kilometers per hour were measured on that date.