User:Atlantic Windstorm Season/sandbox

European windstorm is a name given to the strongest extratropical cyclones which occur across the continent of Europe. They form as cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure. They are most common in the autumn and winter months. On average, the month when most windstorms form is January. The seasonal average is 4.6 windstorms. Deep low pressure areas are relatively common over the North Atlantic, sometimes starting as nor'easters off the New England coast, and frequently track across the North Atlantic Ocean towards western Europe, past the north coast of Britain and Ireland and into the Norwegian Sea. However, when they track further south they can affect almost any country in Europe. Commonly affected countries include the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, but any country in Central Europe, Northern Europe and especially Western Europe is occasionally struck by such a storm system.

2017/18 UK and Ireland Storm Season
On September 6 2017, the met office announced the names for the 2017-18 Atlantic windstorm season. Below you will find a list of the names, both the used and unused names


 * Aileen (12–13 September)

Storm Aileen
Storm Aileen was the first named storm of the 2017-18 UK and Ireland Storm Season. The storm took many by surprise as it is to date the earliest named storm by the met office. The damage that the storm caused was relatively minimal. The storm was named mainly for the wind however rainfall totals were expected to be up to 30-40mm. However between the 11th and the 13th only 15.0mm (0.59in) fell, continuing the wet September. Overall the storm was relatively weak as was to be expected for a storm so early in the season.

--Season Ongoing

2016/17 UK and Ireland Storm Season
The 2016/17 UK and Ireland Storm Season was a long yet inactive season of storms. Between November 19th 2016 and June 7th 2017, there was 3 named storm one of which was a major (category 3+) storm. On September 19 2016, the met office announced the names for the 2016-17 Atlantic windstorm season. Below you will find a list of the names, both the used and unused names


 * Angus (19–22 November 2016)
 * Barbara (21–26 February 2017)
 * Conor (3–7 June 2017)

Storm Angus
Storm Angus was the first named storm of the 2016/17 European Windstorm Season. It brought strong winds and heavy rain on the 21st and early on the 22nd. Some snow also fell on the 21st. The storm gave a gust of 72.3 mph on the afternoon of the 21st. The storm dumped 32.0 mm of rain in total and 31.0 mm fell solely on the 21st. Also on the 21st 1.1 cm of snow fell however it didn't stick to the ground as it was wet and warm from the rain. There was minor damage from this storm in Runcorn however further south many areas saw some flooding and other damages.

The south-west of England was affected with over 1,000 power outages, mostly in Devon. Residents were evacuated due to flooding near South Molton, Devon. Further flooding was reported in Braunton, Bradiford, Devon, and East Bar, Swanage, Dorset. The high winds affected train service in the south-east, ferry crossing at the Port of Dover and the Brighton 10k run.

The storm was a weak category 1 storm, the weakest of the 2016-17 season.

Storm Barbara
Storm Barbara was the 2nd named storm in the inactive windstorm season of 2016/17. The storm was most notable for its wind, bringing the highest gusts of wind for years with the highest being 91.6 mph on the 23rd. Rainfall totals were small and insignificant, totalling at 15.0 mm between the 21st and the 26th. The storm also brought some small amounts of snow, similar to the previous storm, Angus. On the 23rd 1.3 cm fell but again like Angus it didn't stick as the ground was wet and warm with the rainfall. Also the temperature was rather high for snowfall, at 3pm, when the snow fell the temperature was 6.0 C. The damage from the storm was relatively widespread however the total losses amounted to roughly £80.

A 29-year-old woman died in Wolverhampton when debris fell on her in the street. Another woman, a 32 year old, was killed in Swindon when blown with an empty pram into the road. A man in his 80s died in hospital on 26 February after the car he was travelling in was crushed by a falling tree. A girl was seriously injured when a ceiling collapsed on her at the Southwood School in Milton Keynes. On 23 February 2017, during high winds caused by Storm Doris, a Flybe plane (Flight 1284) from Edinburgh to Amsterdam crash landed on the runway at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: the rear right landing gear collapsed but there were no injuries.

The storm was a very strong category 5, with the ability to do great damage.

Barbara was the first category 5 storm to hit the area since Snowstorm Gaston in January 2015.

Storm Conor
Storm Conor was the 3rd and final named storm of the 2016/17 Atlantic Windstorm season. The storm occurred very late in the season and brought with it unseasonably cold temperatures, heavy rain and very strong winds for the time of year. A wind gust of 87.1 mph was recorded on the 6th. Maximum temperatures on the 5th and 6th were both much below average at just 16.2 C for both days. Nighttime temperatures were closer to average. Also on the 6th, 20.6 mm of rain fell.

The storm had minor damages across the country however some places did see some localised flooding especially in England due to heavy rain.

The Storm was a category 2 storm.

2015/16 UK and Ireland Storm Season
On September 6 2015, the met office announced the names for the 2015-16 Atlantic windstorm season. Below you will find a list of the names, both the used and unused names


 * Abigail (17–19 November 2015)
 * Barney (28–30 November 2015)
 * Clodagh (4-6 November 2015)
 * Desmond (22–24 December 2015)
 * Eva (26–28 December 2015)
 * Frank (3–6 January 2016)
 * Gertrude (9-12 January 2016)
 * Henry (27-29 January 2016)
 * Imogen (31 January–3 February 2016)
 * Jake (7-10 February 2016)
 * Katie (12-14 February 2016)
 * Lawrence (2-5 March 2016)
 * Mary (27-30 March 2016)
 * Nigel (4 June 2016)

Abigail
Storm Abigail was the first named storm in the 2015/16 UK and Ireland storm season. The main feature of this storm was the wind however, there were not any exceptional speeds or gust recorded. There was also some rainfall however, it was nothing major. From the 17th to the 20th 10.4 mm of rain fell. The storm also brought with it some very mild temperatures with 15.4°C (59.7°F) being reached on the 17th. The storm preceded a short cold snap

A yellow warning for wind was issued by the Met Office for Wales, along with southern, central and eastern England, with gusts of 70 to 80 mph (110 to 130 km/h) expected on 17 November.

It affected Ireland, Wales, southern and eastern England and the Midlands, where thousands of homes lost power and rail services were disrupted.[27][30] The storm was named Heini by the Free University of Berlin adopt-a-vortex scheme.

The storm was a strong category 2 storm.

Barney
Barney was the second named storm in the 2015/16 UK and Ireland Storm season. The storm brought a return to wet mild and windy conditions after a few days of more seasonable cold weather. The main feature was the wind with 86.8 mph being recorded on the 28th, one of the strongest gusts of the season. Rainfall was not extreme with 16.3 mm falling during the period.

The Met Office issued a statement on 26 November saying that despite a prediction of windy weather in the coming days, the weather system was unlikely to become a named storm. On 28 November, Met Éireann upgraded its warnings and named the storm Barney. The Danish Meteorological Institute christened the low as Gorm on the same evening. The Free University of Berlin named the low Nils II. In the UK and Ireland, Barney's impact was most severe in Ireland and North West England. In the Republic of Ireland 6,000 people were left without power. In Northwest England 10,000 customers were without power. It also caused disruption to transport in the North of England and Scotland.

The storm was the first major - category 3 - storm of the season.

Clodagh
Clodagh was the 3rd named storm in the 2015/16 UK and Ireland Storm Season. The storm mainly affected Cumbria, where the wind and rainfall was most severe with over 400 mm falling. The wind did affect areas further south however rainfall was less extreme with only 13.3 mm of rain falling in this period further south. A wind gust of 75.5 mph was recorded on the 6th. Both day and nighttime temperatures were high but not extraordinarily so with temperatures not falling below 10°C (50°F) on the 4th and 6th but clear skies allowed the temperature to fall to 4°C (39°F) on the 5th.

On 5 December, the Met Office issued a red severe weather warning for rain in Cumbria.[55] The Environment Agency had severe flood warnings in place for parts of the River Tyne in Northumberland and across Cumbria.[ The expected heavy rainfall was considered to be an extreme weather event by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, who named it Synne. The US National Weather Service Ocean Prediction Center tweeted that the heavy rain was due to Desmond pulling a plume of moist air across the Atlantic Ocean to Western Europe, a weather phenomenon known as an atmospheric river. Approximately 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Hawick, Scottish Borders on 5 December, because the River Teviot flooded. Appleby and Keswick in the English county of Cumbria suffered blocked roads and some homes were evacuated; Cumbria Police declared the situation a "major incident". Homes left without electricity occurred in North Yorkshire (over 600) and in Wales (about 700); a further 2,000 people were without power in the Republic of Ireland. Landslides and flooding closed some main roads in Scotland and counties Down and Tyrone suffered road closures from fallen trees.

The storm was a strong category 2

Desmond
Storm Desmond was the 4th storm to be named in the 2015/16 UK and Ireland Storm Season. Compared to other storms in this season, Desmond was relatively weak with wind gusts not being extraordinary nor rainfall being exceptionally high. On the 22nd a wind gust of 71.5 mph was recorded and throughout the period 22nd-24th, 14.6 mm of rain fell.

Rain associated with the passage of Desmond caused further disruption when rivers burst their banks in the Cumbrian towns of Appleby, Keswick and Kendal on the 22 December, with Appleby receiving three to four feet of flood water. The village of Glenridding was badly flooded for the third time in the month. 6000 houses in Ireland were left without power. Liz Truss convened a COBRA meeting to decide on emergency measures, which included the deployment of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment to the affected areas. On 24 December, flood defence gates were closed in Carlisle, Keswick and Cockermouth to limit the damage of rainfall and 20 water pumps and two kilometres of temporary flood barriers were transported to northern England. Ferries operating between Dublin and Holyhead were cancelled due to bad weather on the Irish Sea. The media widely reported Storm Eva as being responsible for the flooding which occurred in Lancashire and Yorkshire on 25–27 December 2015. However, communications from the Met Office indicated that Eva's only direct impact on the UK was strong winds and a band of rain during 23–24 December 2015. By 26 December Storm Eva was located over the far north of Norway. The persistent heavy rain from 25–27 December was caused by a subsequent slow moving depression and frontal zone. Despite red warnings for rain being issued by the Met Office on 26 December 2015, no name was given to this depression since there were no warnings issued for wind.

The storm was a strong category 1.

Eva
Eva was the 5th named storm in the 2015/16 UK and Ireland Storm Season and was notable for both rainfall total and windspeeds. On the 26th a gust of 80.2 mph was recorded also during the two days (26th-27th December), 51.7 mm of rain fell, with 40.6 mm falling on the 26th alone. This meant that December 26th 2015 was the wettest day for 3 years (since September 26th 2012).

Eva was expected to bring gales or severe gales to western parts of the UK. Persistent, heavy rain fell, causing some disruption over Northern Ireland, west and southwest Scotland, northwest England and Wales on 30 December. Amber 'be prepared' rainfall warnings were in force, resulting in severe flood warnings in England and Scotland, meaning "danger to life".

Eva caused severe flooding in Scotland with the towns of Dumfries, Peebles and Ballater flooded by the rivers Nith, Tweed and Dee.

Eva claimed three casualties across Cornwall, Moray and the Highlands.

The Free University of Berlin named the storm Eckard.

Eva also ensured that December 2015 was the wettest December for over 40 years.

The storm was a strong category 2 storm.

Frank
Frank was the 6th named storm in the active storm season of 2015-16. The storm was named for its possibility to bring some minor damage, some rain. However, the main reason for its naming was it had a central pressure of only 979.2 hPa. Despite this the wind nor the rainfall was exceptional with a gust of 75.4 mph on the 5th and a total of 14.7 mm of rain falling throughout the 3 days.

Damage was minimal throughout the country however parts of the north were still recovering after the previous storms had lashed the area. Thankfully this storm was generally weak as more wind and rain would have exacerbated the situation.

Frank continued the series of storms which meant the warm and wet pattern to December was continued.

The storm was a category 2 storm.

Gertrude
Gertrude was the 7th named storm of the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season and was the strongest by measure of pressure. It was equal with storm Jake for the lowest pressure of the season at 977.2 hPa recorded on January 10th. The storm also saw a gust of 88.3 mph on the 10th which is the second strongest of the season, only beaten by Storm Jake. The storm was mainly noticeable for its wind gusts, the rainfall totals were insignificant with only 20.5 mm falling between the 9th and 12th.

The storm was also notable as the temperatures were lower than that of December and early January, they were still above average but only slightly so, but after such a long period of October-like warmth throughout November and December temperatures closer to average were a shock to the system. The temperature fell below freezing for only the second time in the winter so far on the night of the 11th, falling to -0.6°C (30.9°F) which is roughly average.

The storm was a major - category 4 - storm. It was the equal strongest of the season.

Henry
Henry was the 8th named storm in the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season which was only notable for its windspeeds, as the storm saw the least amount of rain for any other this season with only 4.2 mm of rain falling throughout the storm.

Winds were expected to strengthen and create the risk of blizzard conditions, especially over high ground in the north of Scotland. The Chief Operational Meteorologist said: "There remains some uncertainty over the exact track and intensity of the storm", however there was "higher confidence now" on the forecast of very strong winds and storm force winds in the Northern Isles. Press releases from Transport NI and Scotland’s Transport Minister, Derek Mackay, reaffirmed the risk of strong winds and advised people to take care during the course of the storm. At 09:03 on 29 January, the Met Office upgraded the warning to red over the Shetland Islands (between 12:00 and 16:00), with gusts of around 100 mph expected and warned of very large waves.

Henry caused the closures or restrictions on some bridges (Erskine Bridge, Tay Road Bridge, Forth Road Bridge and Severn Bridge) during the storm. On 29 January, 10% of Abellio ScotRail services were cancelled. There were also power cuts across Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The storm was another major category 3 storm. The 3rd 'major' storm of the season.

Imogen
Imogen was the 9th named storm in the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season which was again mainly focused on the possiblity of disruptive wind strengths. On the 1st of February, a gust of 77.9 mph was recorded. Imogen saw the second least amount of rainfall of any storm this season with most rainfall going into Scotland and Northern England. Only 4.7 mm of rain fell throughout the period.

It was forecast to bring heavy rain and very strong gusts of wind across Scotland, northern England and northern Wales on 1–2 February, particularly into the night of 1 February. It was anticipated to bring gales across north Wales and north England, and severe gales across Scotland, most notably in the western isles, which was expected to bring gusts of up to 90 mph, resulting in amber wind warnings being issued. Localised flooding, transport disruption and issues with power supplies were expected, along with storm large waves being an additional concern.

The storm was a category 2 storm.

Jake
Storm Jake was the tenth and strongest storm in the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season with the equal lowest pressure, with Storm Gertrude and the highest wind gust. Jake was another storm that was named purely for its windspeeds and not its rainfall however, rainfall totals were higher than that of the previous two storms with 25.5 mm falling throughout the period (7th-10th). A gust of 88.8 mph was reported on February 8th, the strongest of the season.

On 6 February Met Éireann issued an amber warning for strong winds and named Storm Jake. At this stage the Met Office had issued a yellow warning for strong winds in south-west England and South Wales. On 7 February, the Met Office yellow warning area was enlarged and an amber warning added for winds across south-western England of 60-70 mph and locally 80 mph on 8 February. They warned of the risk to trees, structures, interruption of power supplies and transport, especially the M4 and M5 motorways. On 8 February Storm Jake brought trees down, produced large coastal waves, caused power cuts and toppled high-sided vehicles across southern England and Wales.

The storm was a major category 4 storm. It was the strongest of the season.

Katie
Storm Katie was the eleventh storm to be named in the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season. In terms of wind this was one of the weakest storms of the season and the weakest in terms of rainfall, even central pressure wasn't particularly low.

No rainfall was recorded during the storm however winds were moderately strong.

No major damage was reported.

Overall Katie was the weakest storm of the 2015-16 Season.

The storm was a category 1 storm.

Lawrence
Storm Lawrence was the twelfth named storm of the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season which was moderately strong and named mainly for its wind speeds. A gust, rather strong for so late in the season, of 83.5 mph was recorded on the 2nd.

Lawrence was named by Met Éireann on 1 March based on an amber warning of strong winds for counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick. Strong winds were experienced in much of the Republic of Ireland and also Wales and south-west England on 2 March. There were power cuts and trees blown down in parts of Wales. Disruption was also experienced in parts of south-west England.

The storm was classified as a major category 3 storm.

Mary
Mary was the thirteenth named storm in the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season and the last windstorm to be named. The storm was again notable mainly for its wind as rainfall was insignificant. A rather large gust of 80.7 mph was recorded despite being so late into the season.

During the first half of 28 March strong winds were experienced widely across southern England with coastal gusts of 70-80 mph and inland gusts of 50-70 mph in many places. The peak gust of 106 mph was recorded at the exposed site of The Needles Old Battery. Impacts were widespread across southern England including trees felled, wall, fence and roof damage, scaffolding collapses, bridge closures, flights, ferries and train cancellations and power outages.

The storm was just about classified as a major category 3 storm and was the weakest major storm of the season.

Nigel
Storm Nigel was the fourteenth and final storm to be named in the 2015-16 UK and Ireland Storm Season. It was also the only storm in the season to be named that wasn't a windstorm, Nigel was named as an area of violent thunderstorms moving up from France across into England giving some impressive rainfall totals and some very strong gusts for this time of year. The system formed in the early hours of the 4th of June over Southern France and hit Southern England by the afternoon and dissipated over Scotland during the early hours of the 5th. Hail was reported in many areas along with some flash flooding as 43.6 mm of rain fell during the short thunderstorm meaning that June 4th was not only the wettest day of the season beating December 26th but it was the wettest day for nearly 4 years, since September 25th 2012.

The storm was a category 1 storm.

2014/15 UK and Ireland Storm Season
On September 3 2014, the 'home weather service' announced the names for the 2014-15 Atlantic Storm Season. Below you will find a list of the names, both the used and unused names. Other interesting notations about the winter is that unusually during the dark, at around 8pm, on January 9th the all time January temperature record was equaled at 14.6°C. The other date it was set was January 19th 1930.


 * Albert (7–9 October 2014)
 * Ex-Hurricane Gonzalo (20–21 October 2014)
 * Beth (3–9 November 2014)
 * Carl (11–16 November 2014)
 * Davina (10–12 December 2014)
 * Ethan (26 December 2014)
 * Fanny (13–16 January 2015)
 * Gaston (28 January–1 February 2015)
 * Harmony (1–3 March 2015)

Storm Albert
Storm Albert was the first named storm of the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season. The rain was the major feature of this storm with the winds being quite strong, with a gust of 74.1 mph recorded on the 6th. The rainfall total amounted to 42.8 mm during the period (6th-9th), with 30.2 mm falling on the 8th alone.

The Storm was a weak category 2.

Ex-Hurricane Gonzalo
Ex-Hurricane Gonzalo was the second storm to effect the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season.

The extratropical storm complex incorporating the remnants of Gonzalo generated strong winds across the British Isles, especially over Ireland and the northern United Kingdom. Winds gusted to 88 mph (142 km/h) at Oban in western Scotland while gusts exceeding 60 mph (100 km/h) were common elsewhere. The system halted transportation throughout the region, forcing the cancellation of more than 100 flights at London Heathrow Airport, grounding ferries, and blocking roads and railways with debris. Falling trees killed one woman near Hyde Park, London, and injured several others. In Essex, the winds collapsed a car jack supporting a van, fatally crushing a man working underneath, while poor weather conditions were blamed on a traffic accident in Liverpool that killed a male motorist. The storm triggered minor power outages in Scotland and Wales, with more extensive outages in northwestern Ireland after gusts as high as 70 mph (115 km/h).

The storm was a 'major' category 3 storm.

Storm Beth
Storm Beth was the third storm to affect the British Isles in the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season. Despite being the third storm to affect the isles, it was only the second one to be named due to the previous storm being an ex-hurricane. Rainfall totals during the storm were small at 11.4 mm. The worst of the wind missed the area of Cheshire and went to the north.

However winds were still relatively strong with a gust of 64.9 mph being recorded on the 7th.

Overall the storm didn't have such a major impact on the Cheshire area.

Beth was a category 1 storm.

Storm Carl
Storm Carl was the fourth storm to affect the British Isles in the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season It was however, only the third named storm. The storm was most noticeable for its wind as a gust of 74.1 mph as recorded on the 14th.

Rainfall was slight with only 7.8 mm falling during the storm.

The storm wasn't noticeable for any damage.

The storm was a weak category 2 storm.

Storm Davina
Storm Davina was the 5th storm to affect the British Isles during the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season. Davina was again a weak storm that was mainly notable for its wind. However, the storm was weak with the highest gust being 66.7 mph. Rainfall totals on the 12th were moderate with 15.7 mm falling.

Temperatures were generally mild throughout the period.

The Storm was a category 1.

Central pressure wasn't particularly low either.

Snowstorm Ethan
Snowstorm Ethan was the sixth storm of the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season, that was noticeable for its snowfall and accompanied wind gusts. However, the wind gusts alone would not have been enough to get a storm to be named. The highest gust being only 50.0 mph recorded on the 26th. This meant that technically 2014 was the first white Christmas since 2010, a white Christmas being classified as snow falling or lying between December 24th and December 26th. On December 24th and 25th, mild air was in place across the UK which allowed the temperature to reach 13.3°C (55.9°F) on the 24th. However, the mild air was slowly going away so when the system arrived on the 26th over England, it was allowed to fall as snow in temperatures around 0°C (32°F) at 17:00. In total, the system dropped 27.8 cm, with 17.5 cm falling on the 26th and 10.3 cm falling on the 27th. After the storm had passed, the cold air stayed which allowed for the snow to say on the ground over new year. It was deepest on the 29th at 24.4 cm. The lowest temperature of the year was then recorded on the 31st at -6.1°C (21.0°F), which is one of the highest yearly minimum temperatures on record. Overall, Christmas was made by Snowstorm Ethan with no major damage, nothing was really effected.

Ethan was a 'major' category 3 snowstorm.

Storm Fanny
Storm Fanny was the seventh storm in the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season. The name 'Fanny' was quite controversial, obviously being slang for vagina. The storm was notable for its very strong winds as a gust 100.7 mph was recorded early on the 16th. The storm did have some rainfall in places however it amounted to little more than 5mm in most places. The storm was a major category 5 storm which had the potential to endanger life. Deaths were reported but non were confirmed however the total may be as high as 90+. There was also some major structural damage to many buildings also some coastal flooding. This was the most costly storm of the 2014-15 season.

Snowstorm Gaston
Snowstorm Gaston was the second snowstorm to effect the British Isles during the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season and it was the eighth storm in total. The storm was a very powerful storms in terms of wind and snowfall. Gaston was a category 5 storm with winds of up to 99.5 mph on the 29th and snowfall totals of 27.7 cm. The snowfall totals were not high enough to classify the storm as a category 5 alone, it was mainly the wind that got the storm to its status. There was blizzard conditions reported widely. At its peak, the total snowfall cover was 22.1 cm on the 31st. After the storm had passed, cold conditions continued meaning that the snow took long to melt, by the 12th it had totally melted.

Gaston was the most powerful snowstorm to hit since March 2013

Damage was widespread and there was some coastal flooding and damage to property.

Loss of life was minimal with few deaths being reported.

Gaston was the most powerful storm of the 2014-15 Storm Season.

Snowstorm Harmony
Storm Harmony was the ninth and final storm to affect Britain in the 2014-15 UK and Ireland Storm Season. The storm was a relatively weak storm being only a category one and causing minor damage. The storm had no rainfall and some snowfall, 12.2 cm. This meant it had just enough snow to be classed as a very weak snowstorm however the storm had already attained category 1 status as it had a gust of 66.7 mph on the 3rd.