Thunder and 2-centimeter hail sweep southern Netherlands, halting wildfire operations

Severe thunderstorms with hailstones up to 2 centimeters in diameter, heavy rain, and strong wind gusts swept across the southern Netherlands on Saturday evening, causing local disruptions, including temporarily halting a soccer match between NEC and Telstar in Nijmegen and forcing firefighters to retreat from a wildfire in Noord-Brabant.

In Epen in the Zuid-Limburg Heuvelland, heavy rainwater streamed down a street, footage from L1Nieuws showed. In America, in northern Limburg, a tree fell across a road, photos published by Limburg media showed. Some areas also saw hail showers, with the KNMI saying the stones could measure up to 2 centimeters across.

In Budel in Noord-Brabant, firefighters battling a wildfire between Weert and Budel had to pull back because of the approaching storm, the Eindhovens Dagblad reported. Extra fire trucks were sent so crews could continue fighting the blaze.

The KNMI had issued a code yellow warning for much of the country in advance. The alert began at 3 p.m. in Zeeland and was gradually extended to other provinces. It was no longer in effect for Limburg after 11 p.m. but remained for the rest of the Netherlands, except the three northern provinces. The KNMI said the storms would lose intensity overnight.

It was quite warm on Saturday, with temperatures ranging from 18 to 26 degrees. The day started with sunshine in the northeast and clouds in the southwest. Conditions felt muggy during the showers.