Thunderstorms, hail, strong wind warning in large parts of the Netherlands tonight

Nine of the twelve Dutch provinces were placed under a weather warning for thunderstorms, hail, and strong weather gusts on Monday night. The alert from national meteorological office KNMI took effect at 5 p.m., and was expected to last until 9 p.m.

The Code Yellow Weather Warning covered the provinces of Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel and Utrecht. The alert was also in place in the Wadden Islands area and the IJsselmeer region.

"During the thunderstorms, local wind gusts around 60 kilometers per hour are possible, as well as small hail with a diameter of less than 1 centimeter," the KNMI said. It cautioned that traffic and outdoor activities may be affected.

The winds were approaching the Netherlands from the south, on a day in which the daytime high was predicted to be around 22 degrees Celsius in the southeast, 24 degrees in the central region, and 26 degrees in the east. Aside from the strong gusts of wind during the storm, a sea breeze was more likely along the western coast.

There will be a mix of stormy weather and clear skies as the afternoon transitions into the evening. "During the evening, most showers will dissipate and become less severe," the KNMI wrote. Only Limburg, Zeeland and Zuid-Holland were excluded from the warning. Overnight, temperatures should fall to about 14 degrees.

"Tomorrow afternoon the cloud cover will increase from the southwest, but the sun will still be visible in a large part of the country," the KNMI said about Tuesday. Rainshowers, sometimes accompanied by lightning, may occur sporadically towards the end of the afternoon. Again, the daytime high will range up to 25 degrees.

From Wednesday through Saturday, the daytime temperature should hover around 19 degrees, while overnight temperatures could fall as low as 11 degrees. A chance of rain will remain through the end of the week.

Sunday could be a cooler in some places, with highs around 17 degrees on the Wadden Islands. It should be warmer most other regions, with Amsterdam and Rotterdam seeing 19 degrees, Utrecht nearing 20 degrees, and the mercury rising in the east and southeast to 21 degrees.