Analysis of the severe weather outbreak of 5 June 2019 in The Netherlands

In the evening of 5 June 2019, a severe thunderstorm passed through the Netherlands. The storm was so extreme in the westernmost part of the country, that entire tree lines were blown over and tree trunks were severed. In residential communities, this extreme weather event lead to damage to real estate and cars. From preliminary analysis, it follows that the wind gusts that were responsible for the mentioned damage were caused by gravity waves that had been forced by the interaction of the surface weather with a strong inversion layer aloft.

 

In this work, we show a complimentary set of observations that include Doppler Radar and the Dutch microbarometer array network that are operated by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). The radar measurements show wind gusts with speeds of over 125 km/h while the microbarometers measure associated pressure variations up to 8 hPa. The observations are compared with the non-hydrostatic HARMONIE weather forecast model.

 

The use of high-resolution observations and forecast modelling is important for Early Warning Centers that report on such severe weather outbreaks that can be disruptive for society.