The storm in the early hours of Monday morning led to long rush hour traffic jams in several parts of the country and some disruption to rail services.

There has also been localised flooding as up to 80 millimetres of rain fell in some places.

The KNMI meteorological office had issued an overnight code orange weather warning for Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, Overijssel and Gelderland as the storm crossed the country.

The A4 motorway between Bergen op Zoom and Rotterdam was closed in several places early on Monday morning because of the amount of water on the road and there were long jams on the A6 between Lelystad and Almere for a time.

There were no trains between Roosendaal and Vlissingen because a tree was brought down by the storm and hit the track. Lightning has also disrupted signaling in several places, causing delays.

The storm moved across the country overnight and according to weather forecaster Weeronline, the country was hit by over 1,500 lightning strikes since midnight.

Damage

Lightning caused a major fire in a thatched roof home in Laren in Gelderland but no other serious damage has yet been reported.

In Zaltbommel, 80 millimetres of rain was recorded over a 24-hour period. ‘That is normal for the entire month of August,’ Weeronline said. The storm was also accompanied by extremely large hailstones in Oss and other places.

In Zuid-Holland the fire brigade have urged people only to call in cases of real emergency. ‘There is little we can do about flooding via the storm drains,’ a spokesman told news agency ANP.

Nacht vol #noodweer, code geel voorlopig gehandhaafd #bliksem http://t.co/wlJKz5aSf8 pic.twitter.com/h5HIwfwrIQ

— BNR Nieuwsradio (@BNR) August 31, 2015