The Dutch national weather centre (KNMI) is warning of severe gusts of wind and heavy rainfall affecting large areas of the Netherlands today. Winds have already wreaked havoc across the country and caused delays at Schiphol Airport.

Twenty flights were cancelled Thursday, according to an airport spokesperson. Further delays are expected as the stormy weather continues.

Southern, central and eastern areas of the Netherlands have been put on yellow alert. Coastal areas have been on yellow alert since Wednesday evening. Yellow alerts are issued when 25 to 50 mm of rainfall is expected with wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour.

In The Hague, the danger of those gusts became all too apparent after a 51-year-old woman was hosptialised in critical condition after a being hit by a wind-swept tree. A 19-year-old boy was also injured in the accident.

Winds are threatening to send a 60 meter tall chimney on the Rotterdam Keileweg to the ground. Police have cleared out a radius of 100 metres around the area in case the tower collapses.

Conversely, the ANWB automobile association says traffic has so far not been too badly affected by the unseasonal weather.