Stormy afternoon tomorrow, heavy evening rush hour due to storm Ciarán, trains are running

The Netherlands must prepare for storm Ciarán tomorrow, which can cause nuisance during the evening rush hour due to heavy gusts of wind and a lot of rain. Ciarán is expected to reach the Dutch coast tomorrow morning.

“There is already a lot of wind in the morning, but the peak is in the afternoon,” says NOS weatherwoman Roosmarijn Knol. “It will be stormy on the beaches and at sea. Wind force 9 is expected there, with wind gusts of 95 and 110 kilometers per hour. In the coastal strip, in the westernmost part of the country, it will be stormy, force 8 with wind gusts around 100 kilometers per hour. It can also rain heavily in the west for a long time.”

Because Ciarán is a southerly storm, a large part of the center of the country will also experience a fairly strong to powerful southerly wind. Wind gusts of 80 to 95 kilometers per hour must be taken into account.

The wind will decrease during tomorrow evening, but in the far west it will still remain fairly stormy at night, Knol predicts.

“What is special about this storm is that due to the warm autumn with a lot of rain, the trees are still in leaves and the ground is wet like a sponge,” says Knol. “As a result, weaker trees in particular have a chance of being blown over. That is a big difference with an autumn storm at the end of November, for example, when all the leaves have already fallen.”

The ANWB advises people to work from home tomorrow. The strong wind and rain and incidents such as fallen trees and blown branches can cause longer traffic jams than usual.

The KNMI has so far issued code yellow for storm Ciarán, except in the northeast of the country where no warning applies. It may be decided later today to scale up to code orange. The association calls on people to at least keep a close eye on traffic information.

The NS also recommends using the journey planner, but the transport company has not made any major changes to the national timetable. However, the Zeeland line will be disconnected from the rest of the Netherlands. The trains will commute tomorrow between Vlissingen and Roosendaal and between Roosendaal and the Randstad. Travelers between Zeeland and the rest of the Netherlands therefore have an extra transfer.

Ciarán was still east of Canada last night and is making the rapid crossing across the Atlantic Ocean today. Tonight the core is expected just south of Ireland and then tomorrow it will head over England towards the North Sea.

France, England, Wales and the Benelux are expected to be particularly hard hit.

The French weather service warns on X for storm Ciarán:

In France, code red has been issued in some departments along the coast in Brittany and Normandy for tonight and tonight, the highest possible alert level. In the western tip of Brittany, gusts of 130 to 150 kilometers per hour are expected around midnight, increasing to 170 kilometers per hour during the night. The population has been urged to stay indoors after 9 p.m. tonight.

In addition, code orange applies in a wide strip from Brittany to the border with Belgium for heavy wind and/or flooding. People in southern England and the Channel Islands are also bracing for the storm.

Code orange applies to strong winds on the south coast this evening and tonight, and code red has been issued on the Channel Island of Jersey. There are also flood warnings in many places as a lot of rain is expected.

Several ferry services between France and England, to the Channel Islands and between France and Ireland have been cancelled.