European windstorm
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A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic storm that tracks across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe in the winter months. These storms usually track over the north coast of Scotland towards Norway but can veer south to affect other countries including Ireland, England, Wales, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. As these storms can generate hurricane-force winds (and sometimes even winds at the strength of major hurricanes), they are sometimes referred to as hurricanes, even though very few originate as tropical cyclones.
These storms cause economic damage of $1.7 billion U.S. per year, and insurance losses of $1.2 billion U.S. per year (1990-1998). They rank as the second highest cause of global natural catastrophe insurance loss (after U.S. hurricanes). [link]
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Historic and infamous storms
- January 161362, Grote Mandrenke. A southwesterly Atlantic gale swept across England, the Netherlands, northern Germany and southern Denmark, killing over 25,000 and changing the Dutch-German-Danish coastline.
- November 26, 1703. Great Storm of 1703. Severe gales affect south coast of England.
- January 6-January 7, 1839. Night of the Big Wind. The most severe windstorm to hit Ireland in recent centuries, with hurricane force winds, killed between 250 and 300 people and rendered hundreds of thousands of homes uninhabitable.
- December 28, 1879. The Tay Bridge Disaster. Severe gales (estimated to be Force 10-11) swept the east coast of Scotland, infamously resulting in the collapse of the Tay Rail Bridge and the loss of 75 people who were on board the ill-fated train. [link]
- October 14, 1881, Eyemouth Disaster. A severe storm struck the southeast coast of Scotland. 189 fishermen were killed, most of who were from the small village of Eyemouth.
Severe European windstorms in recent history
- January 31-February 1, 1953. North Sea Flood of 1953. Considered to be Britain's worst natural disaster of the 20th century, claiming over two thousand lives in the UK and Netherlands. A storm originating over Ireland moved around the Scottish west coast, over Orkney, down the east coast of Scotland and England and across the North Sea to the Netherlands. Sea defences in eastern England and the Netherlands were overwhelmed. The ferry MV Princess Victoria, travelling between Scotland and Northern Ireland, was lost with 153 lives onboard, as was more than a quarter of the Scottish fishing fleet. In the Netherlands, 1,835 people died due to the dikes being flooded.
- September 17, 1961, 1961 Ex-Hurricane Debbie. Much of Scotland and the Northern Isles hit by severe gales, which were the residuals of Atlantic Hurricane Debbie. [link]
- February 16, 1962, The Sheffield Wind-storm. South Yorkshire (Northern England). The city experienced winds of at least 65 knots with reported gusts of 80 knots or more. These high wind speeds were very localised on the city area, possibly due to extreme lee-wave enhancement of the airflow downwind of the Pennines.
- February 17, 1962, the North Sea flood of 1962. The above mentioned storm had moved south-east and reached the German coast of the North Sea with wind speeds up to 200 km/h. The accompanied storm surge combined with high tide pushed water up the Weser and Elbe, breaching dikes and caused extensive flooding, especially in Hamburg. 315 people were killed, around 60000 were left homeless.
- January 15, 1968, The 1968 Hurricane. This storm tracked north up the west coast of Scotland. In Glasgow, some 20 people were killed and 2000 people made homeless, Ayrshire and Argyll also affected.
- January 11-January 12, 1974. Record winds, sometimes of hurricane force, recorded in many parts of Ireland. The strongest ever sea level gust in Ireland, at exactly 200 km/h, was recorded in Kilkeel, County Down. Many trees and buildings were damaged and 150,000 homes were left without electricity.
- October 15 and 16, 1987, Great Storm of 1987. This storm mainly affected southeastern England and northern France. In England maximum mean wind speeds of 70 knots (an average over 10 minutes) were recorded. The highest gust of 117 knots was recorded at Pointe du Raz in Brittany. In all, 16 people were killed in England and 4 in France. 15 million trees were uprooted in England. This storm received much media attention, not so much because of its severity, but because these storms do not usually track so far south, the trees and buildings are not used to such winds, and the severity of the storm was not forecasted until approximately 3hrs before it hit & after midnight, meaning hardly anyone was warned. [link]. [link].
- February 13, 1989. During this storm a gust of 123 knots was recorded at the Kinnaird Lighthouse (Fraserburgh) on the North-east coast of Scotland. This broke the highest low-level wind speed record for the British Isles. Much higher (unofficial) windspeeds have been recorded on the summit of Cairngorm, and on Unst in Shetland.
- January 17, 1990. Severe gales swept the north coast of Scotland, and the Northern Isles. A gust of 109 knots was recorded on the Fair Isles. The storm was tracked into continental Europe under the name 'Daria'.
- January 25, 1990, Burns' Day storm. Widespread severe gales in England, Wales and southern Scotland. Isolated gusts of over 105 mph were recorded, causing extensive structural damage. The area affected by this winter storm was much greater than the October 1987 storm, as it tracked east into mainland Europe, where it was known under the name 'Vivian' and cause enormous damages especially to forests. In total, insurance losses resulting from this storm totalled about US $6bn. [link]. The next day saw storm 'Wiebke' continuing the damage.
- January 1, 1992, The New Year Day Storm. This affected much of northern Scotland, unofficial records of gusts in excess of 150 mph were recorded in Shetland. Very few fatalities, mainly due to the very low population of the islands and the fact that the islanders are used to very high winds.
- January 22, 1994. On the 22nd and 23rd, severe gales affected Central, Western and Northern Scotland, and the Northern Isles. A gust of 104 knots recorded at Sumburgh Airport on Shetland. Gusts were estimated to be well in excess of 100 knots (185 km) at Fair Isle. [link].
- December 24, 1997. On Christmas Eve, an intense secondary depression tracked north-east across Scotland, bringing severe gales and heavy rain. The storm caused 6 fatalities, extensive structural damage and disruption to National Grid. Blackpool pier in north-west England was also damaged.
- January 4, 1998. Another intense secondary depression crossed Ireland and northern England. Severe gales also swept Wales and southern England. Widespread structural damage and power outages, and flooding along rivers and coasts.
- December 26, 1998. The Boxing Day Storm. Severe gales over Ireland, northern England, and southern Scotland. Winds speeds of 103mph were recorded at Prestwick airport, and 93mph in Glasgow. Widespread disruption and power outages in Northern Ireland and southern Scotland. The Forth Road bridge was fully closed for the first time since its construction in 1964.
- December 29, 1998. Another severe gale tracks across Northern Ireland and Scotland.
- December 3, 1999. Hurricane like storm Anatol hits Denmark and neighbouring countries. Killing 7 in Denmark alone. Pressure: 952.4 hPa. Wind speeds above 85 mph (38 m/s), gusts up to 115 mph (51 m/s).
- December 26, 1999. On the 26th, 27th and 28th, France and Germany were hit by severe storms and rain. Over 100 people were killed, and the storm caused extensive damage to property and trees and the French and German national power grids. The first storm in the series, dubbed Lothar by European forecasters, rapidly developed just off of the French coast and swept inland. Each of these systems was associated with an intense jet stream aloft and benefitted from latent heat release through atmosphere-ocean exchange processes. "Lothar" and "Martin", as the second storm was dubbed, were extratropical cyclones and had a hurricane-like shape, with an eye at the center.
- December 17, 2004. A storm generating 80 mph winds hit northern France, including Paris, killing 6 people and leaving thousands of homes without power.
- January 8, 2005. Northern Europe was hit by the storm Erwin (German weather service), also called Gudrun by the Norwegian weather service, with sustained wind speeds of 126 km/h and wind gusts of 165 km/h. The storm caused a lot of financial damage in Sweden, where the forest industry suffered greatly from damaged trees, as more than 7,500,000 cubic metres (9,800,000 yd³) of trees were blown down in southern Sweden. About 341,000 homes lost power in Sweden and several thousand of these were out of power for many days and even weeks in some cases, as about 10,000 homes were still without power after three weeks. The international death toll was at least 17.
- January 11, 2005. On the evening of the 11th and early morning of the 12th, a ferocious gale swept across Northern Ireland and northwestern Scotland. Wind speeds of 124 mph (equivalent to a strong Category 3 hurricane) were recorded on North Rona and 105 mph on Barra in the Hebrides. Stormy seas combined with high spring tides and caused flooding in low-lying coastal areas. One fatality in Ireland and six in Scotland, including a family of five who were swept into the sea after fleeing their flooded house on Benbecula. At the peak of the storm 85,000 households in Scotland were without power. On the 13th, all Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services and train services in Scotland were suspended, and many roads closed due to fallen trees. The Forth Bridge was closed for the first time since the 1998 Boxing Day storm, and the Tay (Dundee) and Friarton (Perth) bridges were also closed to all traffic.
See also
- Beaufort scale
- European windstorm names
- Great Gale
- Great Storm
- Hurricane
- List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
- List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
- Severe weather
External links
- [Scientific overview of European Windstorms]
- [Notable weather events in the British Isles]
- [Great weather events: the UK east coast floods of 1953]
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