Worst ever summer storm hit the Netherlands

Storm Poly, the most severe storm occurring during summer months, and overall strongest since January of 2018, hit the Netherlands on July 5.

This storm has been described as a very rare phenomenon, as well as the first very severe summer storm in the country’s history, with wind gusts measuring up to 146 km/h (90mph) in the port city of IJmuiden, west of Amsterdam.

The National Meteorology Institute of the Netherlands issued a code red storm warning, the highest code available, to residents and urged them not to leave their homes, as well as to reserve emergency service numbers for life-threatening situations.

The strong winds and rain also caused major travel disruptions. More specifically, Schiphol airport had to cancel more than 400 flights, while rail service was halted in the Northern part of the country.

Part of the storm’s aftermath were at least two fatalities. One occurred in the city of Haarlem, where an uprooted tree landed on a car and the other one was again caused by a falling tree that hit a pedestrian in the German town of Rhede, near the Dutch border. Furthermore, two more people were injured in Amsterdam by falling trees, according to broadcaster AT5.

It is finally worth noting that strong storms typically occur between late fall and early spring in the country, while the last such summer storm occurred for the first time in over a century in 2015.