Storm Elin expected to hit the Netherlands overnight with 90 km/h winds

Storm Elin is hitting the Netherlands on Saturday night and will bring some strong winds with it until Sunday morning. Therefore, the meteorological institute KNMI issued a Code Yellow warning for the Wadden and IJsselmeer areas, Friesland, Flevoland, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, as well as Zeeland.

Early Sunday morning, the coastal areas will experience heavy gusts of up to 75 kilometers per hour, the KNMI reports. Furthermore, right on the coast, the winds will be 90 kilometers per hour, reaching wind force 8. Overall, winds will be moderate to fairly strong overland and strong in the coastal provinces, reaching wind force 6. However, the wind is expected to subside in the second half of the morning.

In addition to the expected heavy wind gusts, high water levels are also expected in the Netherlands.The water levels of the major rivers will rise sharply again from Monday, according to Rijkswaterstaat. The flood peak will be higher than the last one in November. At that time, a peak of more than 13 meters above baseline (NAP) was reached at Lobith. This time, the water authority is expecting a peak of well over 14 meters above NAP.

The discharge of the Rhine has been high for weeks due to the heavy rainfall in the entire catchment area and the Netherlands. From Monday, water from the snowmelt will be added from higher-lying areas in Germany. Over the week, the Rhine will also discharge water from its tributaries in Germany. Next weekend, the meltwater from Switzerland will reach the Dutch border.

Water levels will rise from 13 meters above NAP. Flood plains and low dams will then be inundated and farmers and nature conservationists will have to remove their livestock from the low-lying areas along the rivers. The water authorities take measures to prevent flooding. An additional problem is that the soil in almost the entire country can no longer absorb water because it is soaked by the heavy rainfall. This leads to heavy seepage behind the river dykes, which can weaken as a result.