2013–2014 Atlantic winter storms in Europe

none February 2020 November 2015 NAtlanticwindspeedanomjan-feblrg.png NOAA North Atlantic wind speed anomaly January–February 2014 Extratropical cyclones 2015-2016 (British Isles) 2013–2014 Atlantic winter storms in Europe were a series of winter storms affecting areas of Atlantic Europe and beyond. The French Atlantic coastal regions (chiefly Brittany), South West and Southern England, West Wales, Ireland, Spanish Atlantic coastal regions (particularly Galicia) were especially affected by a "conveyor belt" series of high-precipitation storms (mostly not exceptional for their winds) and by high tides. Many storms were explosively deepened by a strong jet stream, many deepening below 950 hPa. The repeated formation of large deep lows over the Atlantic brought storm surges and large waves which coincided with some of the highest astronomical tides of the year and caused coastal damage. The low pressure areas brought heavy rainfalls which led to flooding, which became most severe over parts of England such as at the Somerset Levels. The repeated storms fit into a pattern of disturbed weather in the Northern Hemisphere, which saw from November 2013 a disturbance to the jet stream in the western Pacific, which propagated eastwards bringing a warm winter to Alaska, drought to California, and repeated cold air outbreaks to the eastern USA where the early 2014 North American cold wave resulted. Autumn 2013 The end of October brought the St. Jude storm, ranked within the top 10 most severe storms in the autumn across southern England in the last 40 years.2013: Average figures mask some notable highlights https://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/2013-average-figures-mask-some-notable-highlights/ 9 February 2014 Met Office News Blog 31 December 2013 following the St. Jude storm a series of low pressure systems swept across western Europe bringing winds and rain, though not developing anywhere near as deeply as the St. Jude storm. A low named Godeharda [Note 1] was the strongest of these low pressure areas and brought some disruption to Wales, with a gust of 89 mph km/h recorded at Mumbles.Storm-force winds bring damage and 10,000 homes lose power https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24785318 11 November 2013 BBC News 3 November 2013 Storm-force winds left 10,000 homes without electricity in Wales on the first weekend of November 2013. On 2 November the M4 Motorway was closed between Margam and Pyle due to the weather, and a roof canopy at the Princess of Wales Hospital Bridgend was damaged. The old Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway was closed, with speed restrictions in place on the Second Severn Crossing. The M4 at Briton Ferry – where the motorway crosses the Neath – also saw speed restrictions and the Britannia Bridge to Anglesey and the Cleddau Bridge in Pembrokeshire also saw speed restrictions enacted. Natural Resources Wales warned of localised flooding with sea spray and overtopping of sea defences along the Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Newport coasts. The low pressure also brought large waves to Aberystwyth which caused some disruption to seafront properties.Aberystwyth seafront like 'war zone' after storm waves https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-24801060 26 August 2014 BBC News 4 November 2013 November/December 2013 2013 Nordic storms Cyclone Xaver Xaver/2013 North Sea tidal surge Late November and early December saw an area of high pressure positioned to the west of Britain and Ireland, this directed the westerly path of weather systems moving over the Atlantic to the north of the UK, along which the storms developed before impacting across the Nordic countries. Lows moving to the north of the United Kingdom meant that November was fairly dry for the country. December saw long periods of calm conditions in France also with dry and sunny weather predominating. A change in the weather regime began as active depressions brought strong rain and snowfall to the mountains towards the month end. Until 13 December, France (and UK and Ireland) were protected by a powerful anticyclone stretched from the Maghreb to the British Isles, which deflected the Atlantic storm track north into Scandinavia.BILAN DÉCEMBRE 2013 : grand calme avant les tempêtes, de la douceur https://www.meteo-paris.com/actualites/bilan-decembre-2013-grand-calme-avant-les-tempetes-de-la-douceur-30-decembre-2013.html 29 March 2014 Meteo-Paris.com 30 December 2013 French The Nordic nations were affected by a series of storms, including Hilde (17 November),Norske ekstremvær får navn https://met.no/Meteorologi/A_varsle_varet/Varsling_av_farlig_var/Norske_ekstremvar_far_navn/ 18 November 2015 Norwegian Meteorological Institute Norwegian Oskari (1 dec),2013 – an exceptionally warm year https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/press-release/1270258 18 November 2015 Finnish Meteorological Institute 3 January 2014 Xaver (5–7 Dec), Ivar (12 Dec) and Zaki and Adam (14–15 Dec). Cyclone Xaver is predominantly known for the North sea storm surge of 5 December in the UK. The high pressure over Britain, Ireland and the Atlantic moved east during mid December, opening the way for areas of low pressure to reach western Europe. During mid-December a strong temperature gradient established over eastern North America (temperatures in New York 21 C F sqbr, Montreal -7 C F sqbr), which enhanced the jetstream in the North Atlantic.Burt Stephen Britain's lowest barometric pressure since 1886 Weather March 2014 69 3 79–81 10.1002/wea.2285 2014Wthr...69...79B freeHammond John Why is it so stormy? http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/25508106 https://web.archive.org/web/20131227095953/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/25508106 dead 27 December 2013 24 December 2013 Weather BBC News 24 December 2013 The lows moved under this powerful jet stream where they explosively deepened before reaching Western Europe.Taylor Matt UK stormy weather explained http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/25499488 https://web.archive.org/web/20131224001221/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/25499488 dead 24 December 2013 BBC News 24 December 2013 Christmas and New Year storms Bernd (18–19 December) Bernd BerndDec2013.jpg 17 December 2013 21 December 2013 947 hPa inHghttp://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2013/brack/bracka20131219.gif December 19, 2013 surface analysis Met Office 26 December 2013 The first storm of this period was named Bernd,a [Note 1] it was also given the name Emily by some press, after Emily Brontë the author, who died on 19 December 165 years ago, and who wrote Wuthering Heights which featured constant stormy weather.Rao Nathan Hold on to your hats! 100mph Storm Emily will roar in tonight with 'a sting in her tail' https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/449277/Hold-on-to-your-hats-100mph-Storm-Emily-will-roar-in-tonight-with-a-sting-in-her-tail 9 February 2014 Daily Express 18 December 2013Christmas will be a washout as storms continue http://travel.aol.co.uk/2013/12/19/christmas-weather-forecast-wet-and-windy-snow/ 19 December 2013 AOL Travel 19 December 2013Cromie Claire Storm Emily's 80mph winds could disrupt Northern Ireland power supplies and transport again https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/storm-emilys-80mph-winds-could-disrupt-northern-ireland-power-supplies-and-transport-again-29849876.html 18 March 2014 Belfast Telegraph 18 December 2014 Met Éireann issued red warnings for wind at 9:00am on 18 December for counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo. The UK Met Office issued orange warnings for the Highlands, Western Isles, Strathclyde and Northern Ireland.Storm Emily: Met Office Upgrade Weather Warning To Amber For Scotland And Northern Ireland http://www.weatherforecast.co.uk/blog/storm-emily-met-office-upgrade-weather-warning-amber-scotland-northern-ireland/ 15 March 2014 Weather Forecast blog 18 December 2013 UK Met Office maximum hourly gust speed 18 Dec 18:00 – 19 Dec 07:00.Updated Wind and Rainfall totals for 18th to 19th December https://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/updated-wind-and-rainfall-totals-for-18th-to-19th-december/ 18 March 2014 Met Office 19 December 2014 Site Area Elevation (m) Max gust speed (mph) Max gust speed (km/h)Needles Old BatteryIsle of Wight8094 mph km/h tableSouth Uist RangeWestern Isles490 mph km/h tableTireeArgyll987 mph km/h tablePlymouth, MountbattenDevon5085 mph km/h tableCastledergTyrone4984 mph km/h tablePembrey SandsDyfed382 mph km/h tableCapel CurigGwynedd21681 mph km/h tableStornoway AirportWestern Isles1577 mph km/h tableAltnaharraSutherland8177 mph km/h tableFair IsleShetland5776 mph km/h table UK Met Office 24 Hour Rainfall Totals 18 Dec 07:00 – 19 Dec 07:00, 2013. SiteAreaPrecipitation (mm)TredegarGwent38.4Cardinham, BodminCornwall35WhitechurchDyfed34.4TyndrumPerthshire32.2LibanusPowys30.8ShapCumbria30.6OkehamptonDevon30.6KeswickCumbria28.8Tulloch BridgeInverness-shire27BalaGwynedd26.4 Dirk (23–24 December) Dirk Dirk 23 12.jpg 21 December 2013 28 December 2013 927 hPa inHg Cyclone Dirk Dirk formed over North America,Saary Elizabeth UK Stormy weather to last 48 hours https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-25491961 23 December 2013 BBC News 23 December 2013 some storminess was associated with the low in Canada, before it moved into the Atlantic. The preceding weather in North America saw a steep temperature gradient (temperatures in New York 21 C F sqbr, Montreal -7 C F sqbr) which enhanced the jetstream in the North Atlantic. The low moved under this powerful jet stream where it explosively deepened before reaching Western Europe. Deepening below 935 hPa inHg is considered uncommon in the North Atlantic, but has been recorded on a number of occasions, measured from ships transiting the ocean and from land based-recording stations.Burt S. D. A new North Aatlantic low pressure record Weather February 1987 42 2 53–56 10.1002/j.1477-8696.1987.tb06919.x 1987Wthr...42...53B Offshore the minimum low pressure of the "Dirk" storm was forecast to reach a low of 927 hPa inHg.Analysis 24/12/2013 http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/ncep-charts/hires/20131224/gdas.sfc.mslp.thk.nh.anl.12.20131224.gif NOAA 9 February 2014 https://archive.today/20140209143747/http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/ncep-charts/hires/20131224/gdas.sfc.mslp.thk.nh.anl.12.20131224.gif 9 February 2014 dead dmy-allWinter storms, December 2013 to January 2014 http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2013-decwind 14 February 2014 Met Office 12 February 2014 On land the low pressure during the storm was measured at 936.8 hPa inHg on 24 December at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis off the north west coast of Scotland.Graham Eddie Lowest pressure for 127 years recorded in Stornoway today (Confirmed) + Storm Videos http://uhi-mahara.co.uk/view/artefact.php?artefact=43030&view=1258 25 December 2013 UHI-Mahara 24 December 2013Christmas Eve weather warning- lowest pressure in over 100 years http://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/local-headlines/christmas-eve-weather-warning-lowest-pressure-in-over-100-years-1-3243085 25 December 2013 Stornoway Gazette 23 December 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131226072847/http://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/local-headlines/christmas-eve-weather-warning-lowest-pressure-in-over-100-years-1-3243085 26 December 2013 dead This the lowest measured in Britain and Ireland since 1886 (127 years), when a low of 931.2 hPa inHg was recorded in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The most recent low pressure record near such values in Stornoway was measured on 20 December 1982 at 937.6 hPa inHg. The all-time low pressure record for the British Isles remains at 925.4 hPa inHg, recorded at Ochtertyre, Crieff in Perthshire on 26 January 1884. At the southernmost tip of the Faroe Islands a low air pressure of 932.2 hPa was recorded on Christmas Eve at Akraberg lighthouse.Dramatiskt julväder i Sverige och övriga Europa http://www.smhi.se/nyhetsarkiv/dramatiskt-julvader-i-sverige-och-ovriga-europa-1.35142 7 January 2014 Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute 27 December 2013 Swedish 7 January 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140107121945/http://www.smhi.se/nyhetsarkiv/dramatiskt-julvader-i-sverige-och-ovriga-europa-1.35142 dead This was not as low as the Faroese record of 930.3 hPa inHg, set at Vagar airport during the passage of the Braer Storm of January 1993. Erich (26–27 December) Erich Erich2013.gif 25 December 2013 1 January 2014 944 hPa inHg UK Met Office maximum hourly gust speed 00:00 27 December to 14:30 27 December.Wind and rainfall data 27 December 2013 https://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/wind-and-rainfall-data-27-december-2013/ 22 March 2014 Met Office 27 December 2013 Site Area Elevation (m) Max gust speed (mph) Max gust speed (km/h)AberdaronGwynedd95102 mph km/h tableCapel CurigGwynedd21687 mph km/h tableMumbles HeadWest Glamorgan4385 mph km/h tableSt Bees HeadCumbria12485 mph km/h tableInverbervieKincardineshire13481 mph km/h tableValleyGwynedd1081 mph km/h tableLake VyrnwyPowys36078 mph km/h tableMonaAnglesey6078 mph km/h tableNeedles Old BatteryIsle of Wight8078 mph km/h tableDundrennanKirkcudbrightshire11377 mph km/h tablePembrey SandsDyfed376 mph km/h table UK Met Office 24 Hour Rainfall Totals 00:00 27 December to 14:30 27 December. SiteAreaPrecipitation (mm)Tulloch BridgeInverness-shire38TyndrumPerthshire37.8CharterhouseRoxburghshire37.8*Kielder CastleNorthumberland33.2AchnagartRoss & Cromarty32.8Redesdale CampNorthumberland28.6 thumbnail|250px|left|High waves at Porthcawl 27 December Felix & Gerhard thumbnail|right|Lows Felix II 966 hPa, Gerhard 970 hPa and Anne 993 hPa, on 1 January 2014 A stormy period between Christmas and New Year followed as Weather fronts associated with the lows Felix (30 December) and Gerhard (1 January) passed over the UK which brought further rainfall and some stormy conditions. The Felix low was more remote from European mainland and brought strong tightening of isobars across NW France, where winds of 141 km/h mph were reported in Camaret-sur-Mer, Brittany. Low near Iceland brought winds up to 140 km/h mph to that country, and disrupted traffic and heavy rainfall and brought more flooding to the United Kingdom.Dépression Felix : coup de vent en Bretagne et Normandie https://www.meteo-paris.com/actualites/depression-felix-coup-de-vent-en-bretagne-et-normandie-30-decembre-2013.html 29 March 2014 Meteo-Paris.com 30 December 2013 French At Croyde Bay in north Devon a woman was rescued from sea who later died on 31 December.Devon: Woman Dies After Being Swept Out To Sea http://news.sky.com/story/1188913/devon-woman-dies-after-being-swept-out-to-sea 15 March 2014 Sky News 31 December 2014 27-year-old man swept out to sea on Loe Bar Porthleven Cornwall New Year's Eve, and on 1 January a man was found dead on the banks of River Torridge in Bideford, Devon.Keeble Andy Body of man discovered on banks of River Torridge http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/news/body_of_man_discovered_on_banks_of_river_torridge_1_3167575 15 March 2014 North Devon Gazette 1 January 2014 Over the holiday period, several New Year outdoor swimming events were cancelled.November 2018 Notes aNaming conventions (where possible) follow those adopted by the Free University of Berlin's adopt a vortex https://web.archive.org/web/20070227205437/http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/adopt-a-vortex/ 27 February 2007 scheme. Names from other sources referenced in article. References External links House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Winter floods 2013–14 Met Office and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology: The Recent Storms and Floods in the UK, 9 February 2014. Met Office: Marine weather analysis - December 2013 & January 2014 Environment Agency report Met Eireann: What’s up with the Weather this winter? Aidan Murphy 14 February 2014. Met Eireann: Winter 2013/2014, 3 March 2014 Environment Agency Flickr Galleries: St Jude's day storm December 2013 East Coast Surge Tidal Surge recovery December 2013 December 2013 flooding January 2014 flooding February 2014 flooding 13-14 Category:Meteorological events in 2013 Category:Meteorological events in 2014 Category:2013 in Europe Category:2014 in Europe