Winds gusting at up to gale force 11 hit parts of the Dutch coast on Sunday afternoon as storm Ciara moved in from the Atlantic.

The KNMI issued a code orange weather warning for the entire country and the ANWB motoring organisation warned drivers not to use the roads unless necessary. ‘We are getting a lot of reports about trees or branches that have been blown down,’ a spokesman said.

The storm is due to reach its height between 6pm and midnight as it moves over the country from the coast.

Dozens of flights have been cancelled at Schiphol airport because of the strong winds. Dozens of people have gone to the airfield to watch the planes coming in to land, and local television station NH Nieuws has set up a webcam to record the landings.

KLM has also cancelled 178 flights scheduled for Monday.

There have also been problems on the railways. A train travelling from Eindhoven and Helmond ploughed into a tree which had fallen onto the track. No-one was injured and the passengers were all safely evacuated.

Fallen trees have caused problems on other tracks and the NS is urging passengers to check online for details. High speed services to Rotterdam and Breda have also been cancelled. The NS has also set up a live blog following incidents as they come in.

Het weer begint behoorlijke impact op het treinverkeer te hebben buiten. pic.twitter.com/luQ4uQR4FU

— Roel Salden (@roel_salden) February 9, 2020

In Leiden, the strong winds played havoc with the clock on the spire of the St Petrus church.

 

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Zelfs de tijd waait met de wind mee. Of is dit wat ze bedoelen met het einde der tijden? #storm #leiden

A post shared by Joost Vullings (@joostvullings) on Feb 9, 2020 at 6:30am PST

And in Zeeland, the Dutch national championships for cycling into the wind on an ordinary bike were stopped because it was too dangerous for lorries to drive over the Oosterscheldekering sluice gates and take the bikes to the start of the contest.

Fifteen of the 20 teams scheduled to take part in the race were not able to compete. ‘It was a difficult decision, but we had no choice,’ organiser Robrecht Stoekenbroek. told local broadcaster Omroep Zeeland.

Superzuur voor de ploegen die niet meer konden starten. Maar tegen dit bord doe je weinig 😥 maar even petje af voor de ongelofelijke bikkels die vandaag wel de sturm konden trotseren; bij de zwaarste editie ooit 💪#nktegenwindfietsen pic.twitter.com/tf1i58C8vx

— NK Tegenwindfietsen (@NKTegenwind) February 9, 2020

Storm Ciara also brought some advantages. Passengers travelling on KLM flight 644 from New York landed almost 90 minutes early as tailwinds boosted its speed to up to 1,300 kph.