The KNMI weather bureau has extended its code yellow weather warning for the New Year festivities to cover Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland, Friesland, and Groningen.

Winds of up to 80 kph are expected from midnight on land, with the risk of damage and fire during the annual firework frenzy. No major problems are expected from the southwesterly winds in the rest of the country, although there too it will be blustery.

The bad weather meant the traditional bonfires on the beach at Scheveningen and Duindorp were lit on Monday night. Other New Year bonfires, such as the Floradorp blaze in Amsterdam Noord, were also celebrated on Monday.

Several firework shows have been called off but the national show on the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam will go ahead from midnight, the organisers say.

Many local authorities, including Amsterdam, say they will decide on Tuesday itself if the shows will go on. The capital’s main light show, which does not use fireworks, will go ahead on Museumplein.

In total 19 towns and cities have brought in bans for consumer fireworks this year, but these are often ignored. Around 100 also have firework free zones.

The weather has also led to the cancellation of several New Year swims, including the biggest at Scheveningen.

Some 10,000 people usually take part in the chilly dip but the organisers, sausage and soup maker Unox, say they have been forced to cancel because of the bad weather on New Year’s day which will cause rough seas.