Thursday will begin sunny and warm but by mid afternoon the south of the country will be hit by short thunderstorms, with heavy rain and possible hail, the KNMI weather bureau said.

The bureau has issued a code yellow weather warning for Limburg and Noord-Brabant. However, weather forecaster Buienradar says the storms could reach central parts in the late afternoon and evening.

The Netherlands has been hit by lots of intense thunderstorms in recent weeks, following hot weather, and the damage to property and crops has run into millions of euros.

Limburg’s water board has said it needs at least €500m to combat the effects of flash flooding and to prepare the province for more extreme weather conditions in the future.

Infrastructure minister Cora van Niewenhuisen told provincial officials on Wednesday night that she had commissioned new research into the likely impact of extreme weather and climate change, RTL Nieuws reported.