Trends & projections for tornadoes

Tornadoes, usually referred to in the Netherlands as ‘windhozen’, do occur, but they are rare and are generally much weaker than the most destructive tornadoes in the United States. According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), tornadoes are among the hazardous weather phenomena that can occur in the Netherlands, mainly during summer but sometimes also in winter. At present, no robust national projection appears to show that the frequency or intensity of tornadoes in the Netherlands will clearly increase or decrease.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that severe convective storms and related small-scale phenomena remain difficult to observe and model, which means that projections for tornado-related change remain uncertain. In practice, this means that changes in atmospheric conditions favourable to severe thunderstorms can be monitored, but there is currently no firm Netherlands-specific projection for future tornado occurrence.