Strong winds: 180 flights canceled at Schiphol, high-speed trains cancelled

Strong winds, lightning and hail began to hit the Netherlands on Monday afternoon. At least 180 flights at Schiphol Airport were canceled during the afternoon and evening hours due to the expected gusts, a spokesperson for the airport said. The wind also led to the cancellation of trains running between the central stations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam on the high-speed line.

The flight cancellations at Schiphol primarily concern 90 roundtrip flight pairings, most of them operated by KLM. According to Schiphol’s website, European flights by easyJet, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France have also been canceled. Some 207 departures were facing delays throughout the day, and another 186 arrivals were also expected to land later than scheduled.

Due to the strong wind, no trains will run between Amsterdam Centraal Station and Rotterdam Centraal Station on the high-speed line on Monday, national railway NS announced. The passenger train operator said it expects that the direct high-speed connection between the two cities will not restart before Tuesday afternoon at around 3 p.m.

The strong wind was also causing a disruption on the high-speed route between Rotterdam and Breda. Fewer trains will run on that route on Monday until at least around 8 p.m.

A weather warning in place in Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, the Wadden Islands and the IJsselmeer noted the likelihood of gusts ranging from 75 to 100 kilometers per hour. As the strong storm first began to pass over Amsterdam just after 2 p.m., emergency services began tackling serious issues like a person reportedly in the water in the city's Westpoort area, and a traffic crash with injuries on Panamalaan in Amsterdam-Oost.

Additionally, trucks and vehicles with trailers have been temporarily forbidden from driving along the Markerwaarddijk, a section of the N307, due to the strong winds. The truck and trailer traffic was hindered between Lelystad and Enkhuizen as a result, as is often the case when the wind is strong.

The stretch of road is part of the weather warning for the IJsselmeer area with the heaviest wind gusts, according to meteorological office KNMI. The connecting road between Lelystad and Enkhuizen is expected to remain closed to truck and trailer traffic until 10 p.m. Drivers instead have to detour via Amsterdam.

The regions with the more severe warning were expected to still be affected as late as 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The KNMI also warned of thunderstorms with heavy gusts of winds between 75 and 90 kilometers per hour everywhere else in the Netherlands, which should taper off into the evening hours on Monday. A code yellow weather warning applies to the entire country.

According to the KNMI, these storms may be accompanied by thunder and hail. In the evening, the strong winds will decrease inland, but the western coastal provinces will remain at risk of heavy gusts until the night into Tuesday.