Urgent Code Orange warning issued as heavy storms hit eastern Netherlands

The weather warning issued in the Netherlands on Friday was escalated in four provinces as severe thunderstorms hit the region. The Code Orange alert was active in Gelderland, Overijssel, Drenthe, and Groningen, while the rest of the country remained under a milder Code Yellow alert.

“Locally, 20-40 mm of precipitation will fall in an hour,” said meteorological office KNMI. The inclement weather is expected to be accompanied by severe wind gusts topping out at 90 kilometers per hour. Hailstones of 2 to 4 centimeters are possible.

The Code Orange warning was in effect from 5 p.m. on Friday, and was expected to remain in place for four hours in Gelderland and Overijssel, and two hours in Drenthe and Groningen. The heaviest storm patterns will sweep across the Netherlands towards Germany over the course of the evening.

“These storms can cause local nuisance and damage due to lightning strikes, heavy rain in a short period, wind gusts, and large hailstones,” the KNMI said. “A Yellow alert for thunderstorms applies to the rest of the country.”

The Code Yellow warning was likely to remain in effect until 10 p.m. in Noord-Brabant and Limburg. It could expire as early as 6 p.m. elsewhere, the national meteorological office said.