Chance of heavy thunderstorms with rukwind tonight, code yellow in West Flanders: « A party in a tent is not a good idea now »
It can start a lot from Friday afternoon, with possible gusts and hail. « Can », because little is as hard to predict as a thunderstorm, says Weerman Frank Deboosere. « Being afraid does not help, but be warned and sensible. »
At the moment it is still baking in the sun in most of the country. But we all know that a scorching hot day in our country is sometimes followed by thunderstorms. That will probably be no different today.
« From the late afternoon, but especially tonight and tonight there is a chance of thunderstorms, » confirms Deboosere. « That is especially the case in the west of the country. The more to the east, the greater the chance that you will be spared from a bright thunderstorm. »
The RMI announces a code yellow for West Flanders. « Late tonight and in the beginning of the night, a thunderstorm with hefty gusts pulls over the western part of the country, » it sounds. « This is accompanied by temporarily large showers and possibly hail. We give code yellow for the gusts. »
Later in the evening that warning could go to code orange, says Deboosere.
Storm damage
Noodweerbenelux warns of the chance of a ‘bow echo’, or a boogecho, and accompanying storm damage. Deboosere explains what they mean. « Thunderstorms are usually loose flodders that are not organized. On Friday afternoon we see, for example, thunder clouds above Geraardsbergen that go towards Aalst. That is just a loose thunderstorm. A boogecho is a phenomenon in which those thunderstorms organize into a cluster. That shows itself as an arch on the radar images. »
« At present, most computer models point to a lot of water in a short time and bright gusts. Those winds can be very locally »
Frank Deboosere
On Friday afternoon there is no booogecho to be seen yet, but according to computer models there is a chance that one will arrive later in the day. « But for the same money, the showers stay separate. Or the thunderstorm west of our country, over the sea. » As it goes with predicting thunderstorms, nothing is certain. “At the moment, most computer models point to a lot of water in a short time and bright ruk winds. Those winds can be very local. Think of the Pukkelpop storm: not that it will be so intense, but a hundred meters more to the left or right and there may have been nothing wrong. It is impossible to predict exactly.
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That being said: A warned person is worth two. « A party in a tent is not a good idea now, certainly not in the west of the country. Prevention is better than cure the tent, keep an eye on the weather forecast and the sky and warn people that it can still be canceled. If the sound of thunder sounds louder than the music, then you know what time. Being scared does not help and be sensible. »
Emergency number 1722 activated for storm or water damage
The RMI warns of bad weather and Friday evening in West Flanders Code Geel applies to rukwinds. The Federal Public Service Home Affairs has therefore activated the emergency number 1722 for those who are struggling with storm or water damage.
On Friday evening and night, a thunderstorm with hefty gusts pulls over the western part of the country. That is accompanied by temporarily large showers and possibly hail.
The number 1722 serves for situations that are not life threatening. In possibly life -threatening situations, you can still call to 112.
If you need assistance from the fire brigade, for example in the event of storm and water damage, can submit an application via the e-counter www.1722.be or call to the number 1722. You are requested to prefer to use the e-counter. The intention is not to overload the emergency centers 112 and not to let people who are in danger of life wait.
