Heatwave 2, 2026 - liveblog 5

 

After all the lightning and the forecast of extremely heavy thunderstorms I didn't want to go to bed until the first attack was over.

There was a slight rumble in the sky and the daughter woke up.
I asked her to close her window as I could feel the storm could start any moment.

It did. Not even two minutes after that the wind got very strong.
And the lighning got worse, thunder was coming from all sides.

The son who is with the paras at the campsite apped from his car. His tent was flooded.
I told him to go to my campfriend. "Either sleep in the special compartment and when he has stuff in there you can sleep in the middle part of the tent."
Our friend read this and was already opening the tent...

We've had a very heavy thunderstorm with lots of rain, heavy winds and I am sure the lightning struck something at least twice.
I am going to check if there is still bad weather and then I'll lock the door and go to bed.

It has started again...or is ongoing....

In the morning the temperature seems to be OK. Cool.
Yea, right... 22 degrees.

09.30 - 25

In the past a light or moderate thunderstorm would end with a louder rumble, like it was saying: "Done." and then the temperature was down and that was the end of one or more warm afternoons or days.

Now the heat goes on. Code orange has been scaled down as no rain is expected. But it will be about 32 degrees.

While the reports from other countries (Germany, Denmark, Czechoslovakia etc ) drop in, we get in the news what happened last night,

• Lightning struck many times, causing damage and fires.
• Trees and branches on the rails. So less trains.
• Signals and switches not working, so no trains between Gouda and Rotterdam and Gouda and Den Haag.
• 2 people where hurt by lightning on the beach, with serious consequences. More people suffered injuries eitehr direct by lightning or indirect by materials that were struck by lightning.
• In Veldhoven the top of a windmill came down. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Lots of damage in Tilburg. They got so many reports that they started an additional control room.
• A carecenter, in the town where my other daughter lives, was on fire.
• In the area of Amsterdam and around there were so many reports of waterdamage, that they had to ask people: "Only call for the emergency services when it's a matter of life and death."

10.10 - 26

11.46 - 28

Humidity is rising again, which is not surprising after the enormous amount of rain that came down yesterday.

Just found out one of our shorttrackers, Sven Roes, is missing.  He went to the Olympic Games in 2022.

I was waiting for a political discussion program on TV...ugh...summer break.

13.10 - 29

14.50 - 30

After a partly grey and sweaty afternoon the sun is looking if it can find something to burn.
Slight wind.

We're all fed up by the weather.

Record in Germany: 41.7
In France a lot more than 1000 people have died because of the weather.

The laundry hasn't dried well outside.

21.10 - 24 degrees outside. (Didn't have that for days!!)

Both doors are open and windows upstairs, in a sincere attempt to create a cold draft.
Inside the humidity has gone down a bit, and it's 28 degrees.

Watching Ed Stafford in the Himalayas...

The theme for the september camp has been published.
"Allo, allo!"
I have never been a fan of the program, especially not because it as broadcasted at a time there was one of my favorites on at the same time.

The thunderstorm last night (before 2.00 AM) had 300.000 flashes. An aboslute record.

Itś 21 degrees outside.
It feels fresh and a lot better than 28 inside.

Been busy all evening with veterans.

I'm glad this disaster is over!! What a weather!

. . .

About **Syl

Syl: "Life is a chain of challenges. Sometimes the largest challenges are we ourselves. Facing life, facing others and facing yourself requires either a worryless attitude or plain courage. Most of the time it is dealing with judgement. Maybe life is about getting rid of it."