National weather agency KNMI has cancelled its code yellow alert for the whole province of Noord-Holland, including Amsterdam. The warning was withdrawn on Thursday 20 August after only a few hours, when the forecast storm conditions failed to develop.
The alert had been set to run from 15:00 to 18:00. Forecasters had warned of torrential downpours, hail and strong wind gusts across the region.
Waterspouts were also considered possible. That risk has now been ruled out as well.
Six provinces were covered
The warning was not limited to Noord-Holland. On Thursday afternoon code yellow applied to six provinces: Groningen, Friesland, Flevoland, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland and Zeeland.
In the coastal provinces the institute pointed to thunderstorms with locally heavy rain in a short time and gusts of up to 60 km/h. Several waterspouts had already been spotted at sea earlier in the day.
Weather service Weeronline had initially noted that thunderstorms and heavy rain could continue in Amsterdam beyond 18:00. Those conditions are no longer expected either.
What a code yellow means
Code yellow is the lightest of the three KNMI warning levels. It signals a chance of dangerous weather of a kind that occurs regularly in the Netherlands, and asks road users in particular to pay attention.
The institute can issue a code yellow up to 48 hours before the weather arrives, which also means a warning can be withdrawn when the picture changes, as happened on 20 August.
Code orange indicates a substantial chance of dangerous weather with serious impact. Code red is a full weather alarm, reserved for situations that can disrupt daily life on a large scale.
For Amsterdam the outcome is simple: the afternoon and evening turned out calmer than forecast, and no severe weather warning remains in force for the capital.
