 Dirk over Western Europe 23 December 2013 | |
| Type | European windstorm,Extratropical cyclone,Winter storm |
|---|---|
| Formed | 21 December 2013 |
| Dissipated | 27 December 2013 |
| Highest gust | 228 km/h (142 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 927 mb (27.4 inHg) |
| Fatalities | 6 (4 UK, 1 France, 1 in the ocean.) |
| Areas affected | Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy |
Cyclone Dirk was a large and deepEuropean windstorm that affected Western Europe from theIberian Peninsula to Iceland from 22 December 2013.
Dirk formed over North America,[1] some storminess was associated with the low in Canada, before it moved into the Atlantic. The preceding weather in North America saw a steeptemperature gradient (temperatures in New York 21 °C [70 °F], Montreal −7 °C [19 °F]) which enhanced thejet stream in the North Atlantic.[2] The low moved under this powerful jet stream where itexplosively deepened before reaching Western Europe.[1][3]
Deepening below 935 hPa (27.6 inHg) is considered uncommon in the North Atlantic, but has beenrecorded on a number of occasions, measured from ships transiting the ocean and from land based-recording stations.[4] Offshore the minimum low pressure of the "Dirk" storm was forecast to reach a low of 927 hPa (27.4 inHg).[5][6]
On land the low pressure during the storm was measured at 936.8 hPa (27.66 inHg) on 24 December atStornoway,Isle of Lewis off the north west coast of Scotland.[7][8] This was the lowest atmospheric pressure measured in Britain and Ireland since 1886 (127 years), when a low of 931.2 hPa (27.50 inHg) was recorded in Belfast, Northern Ireland.[7] The most recent low pressure record near such values in Stornoway was measured on 20 December 1982 at 937.6 hPa (27.69 inHg).[7] The all-time low pressure record for the British Isles remains at 925.4 hPa (27.33 inHg), recorded atOchtertyre,Crieff inPerthshire on 26 January 1884.
At the southernmost tip of theFaroe Islands a low air pressure of 932.2 hPa (27.53 inHg) was recorded on Christmas Eve atAkraberg lighthouse.[9] This was not as low as the Faroese record of 930.3 hPa, set atVagar airport during the passage of theBraer Storm of January 1993.[9]
Met Éireann issued nationwide orange wind and marine alerts for winds of 50 to 80 km/h (31 to 50 mph) with gusts of 100 to 130 km/h (62 to 81 mph).[10] The UK Met Office issued national severe weather warnings for wind and rain across southwest and northern areas of the UK for the 23 and 24 December.[11] Forty to sixty millimetres of rain was expected across southern England and Wales on 23 December, with gales and severe gales with gusts of 70–80 mph (110–130 km/h) gusts and blizzards over the Scottish mountains on 24 December. The storm was described as a "perturbation tempétueuse" (stormy disturbance) byMétéo France, who issued orange warnings to parts ofBrittany on 22 December. These warnings were expanded to an orange alert across 14 departments inNormandy,Picardy andNord-Pas-de-Calais on 23 December.[12][13] French Meteorologists stated the storm would not be as strong as the devastatingLothar and Martin, a pair of storms which hit France in late December 1999.[14] TheNorwegian Meteorological Institute issued a warning for Christmas Eve for the whole of Southern Norway.[15]
Dirk brought heavy rain to most counties of Southernmost England, fromDorset toKent, 50 to 67 mm (2.0 to 2.6 in) of rain fell which caused many pockets of flooding on 23 and 24 December. Rainfall for the 24 hours to 09:00 UTC on 24 December was 66.8 mm (2.63 in) atFontmell Magna, Dorset; 66.7 mm (2.63 in) atBoscombe Down, Wiltshire (the greatest ever recorded there in 24 hours); 61.0 mm (2.40 in) atMickleham, Surrey; and 63.2 mm (2.49 in) atWych Cross, East Sussex – usually three-quarters of the whole-month's rainfall at these points.[6]
Northwestern Spain saw strong wind gusts, with coastal areas seeing large waves and wind damage. A gust of 154 kilometres per hour (42.8 m/s; 96 mph) was measured at theEstaca de Bares peninsula inGalicia.[16] A strong frontal system from the storm passed over continental Europe.
The Alps saw strongFoehn winds with a Christmas thaw and several warmth records broken. A peak gust was measured at the French station Iraty in the Pyrenees at 228 km/h (142 mph). In the English Channel gusts up to 148 km/h (92 mph) were measured on 24 December. In the Swiss Alps winds over 200 km/h (120 mph) were recorded. MeteoSwiss recorded at Gütsch Andermatt (2,287 m [7,503 ft]) a peak wind of 208 km/h (129 mph), the highest value since 1981).
Weather stations in many parts of Germany saw the warmest 24 December since records began. Binningen in Basel recorded 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) (5–8 °C [9.0–14.4 °F] above normal). In Salzburg on the north edge of the Alps 15.6 °C (60.1 °F) made it the mildest 25 December seen. After the low-pressure fronts passed a wake vortex formed over the Alps, which brought to northern Italy severe storms and heavy snowfall in the Alps (Northern Ticino, Misox up to 120 cm [47 in] in a day, East Tyrol up to 80 cm [31 in]).San Bernardino, Switzerland saw the most one-day snowfall since measurements began (thus at least 1952).
| UK Met Office maximum hourly gust speed 18:00 23 December to 07:00 24 December.[17] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site | Area | Elevation (m) | Max gust speed (mph) | Max gust speed (km/h) |
| Needles Old Battery | Isle of Wight | 80 | 92 | 148 |
| Berry Head | Devon | 58 | 84 | 135 |
| Langdon Bay | Kent | 117 | 76 | 122 |
| Gorleston | Norfolk | 4 | 75 | 121 |
| Manston | Kent | 49 | 75 | 121 |
| Mumbles Head | West Glamorgan | 43 | 75 | 121 |
| South Uist Range | Western Isles | 4 | 75 | 121 |
| Plymouth Mountbatten | Devon | 50 | 74 | 119 |
| Solent | Hampshire | 9 | 74 | 119 |
| Aberdaron | Gwynedd | 95 | 73 | 117 |
| North Wyke | Devon | 177 | 73 | 117 |
| UK Met Office 24 Hour Rainfall Totals 18 Dec 07:00 – 19 Dec 07:00, 2013.[17] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Site | Area | Precipitation (mm) |
| Kenley Airfield | Greater London | 53.6 |
| Charlwood | Surrey | 41 |
| Wych Cross | East Sussex | 38.6 |
| Alice Holt Lodge | Hampshire | 33.8 |
| Goudhurst | Kent | 32.2 |
| Middle Wallop | Hampshire | 31.6 |
| Frittenden | Kent | 30.8 |
| Cluanie Inn | Ross & Cromarty | 30.8 |
| Liscombe | Somerset | 30.4 |
| Hurn | Dorset | 29.8 |
| Larkhill | Wiltshire | 29.2 |
In anticipation of severe weather, on 22 December rail companies announced that travellers with tickets for the following day would be permitted to travel that day instead.Network Rail imposed speed restrictions from 16:00 on 23 December. Network Rail described the damage to rail infrastructure in southern England as worse than that seen during theSt. Jude storm in October.[18]
In Finistere, France thePont de l'Iroise was closed to traffic overnight on 23–24 December.[23] TheSaint-Nazaire Bridge crossing the riverLoire also had traffic restrictions in place.[23] TheQueen Elizabeth II Bridge of theDartford Crossing was closed from 12pm on 23 December with traffic running in two directions through theDartford Tunnel. TheSheppey Crossing was closed, with theOrwell Bridge also closed to high sided vehicles near Ipswich. Denmark saw few problems with transport, but high-sided and wind-sensitive vehicles were being warned to stay off the roads, especially the larger bridges.[24]
LD Lines cancelled boats betweenLe Havre andDieppe to Portsmouth on 23 and 24 December, with a crossing betweenSaint-Nazaire andGijon, Spain also cancelled.[13] Brittany Ferries cancelled crossings fromSt Malo in Brittany andOuistreham in Normandy to Portsmouth.[13] Although the ferry from Cherbourg to Portsmouth was due to leave at 10.30pm on 23 December.[13] Brittany Ferries also cancelled theRoscoff toPlymouth ferry.[19] Irish Ferries cancelled the Jonathan Swift Fast Ferry between Holyhead and Dublin on the afternoon of 23 December.[10] 24 December saw allCaledonian MacBrayne ferry services to the ScottishWestern Isles cancelled, with the company hoping to run a relief service on Christmas Day. TheIsle of Man Steam Packet Company also ran a Christmas Day service, after cancelling sailings, which the company said had not happened since the late 1970s.[25]
ThePort of Dover closed at 21:00 23 December due to strong winds and high seas, reopening at 07:30 the morning after.[26] Reports that several ferries spent the night unable to dock riding out the storm in the English Channel. The ferryMVCap Finistere left on Sunday 22 on a service to Bilbao but turned back to shelter near Brittany after encountering a storm in Bay of Biscay; injured passengers had to be airlifted from the ferry.[27] In theEnglish Channel sea conditions were described as the worst in 16 years.[28] Cargo shipHorst B ran aground in strong winds in the Faroe Islands.[29] A cargo ship reported losing 30 containers overboard off the coast of Brittany.[21]
All flights to and from theScilly Isles were cancelled and rescheduled until 24 December.[19] Flights to and fromSouthampton Airport were badly affected by the storm.[30]Gatwick Airport's north terminal was affected by power disruptions on 24 December, stranding thousands of passengers as 145 flights were cancelled due to flooding of electricity substations at the airport.[31] Heathrow cancelled a couple of dozen flights on 23 December.Bristol Airport andGlasgow Airport also reported some disruption. In Spain delays and cancellations were reported at airports inBilbao,Asturias,Santander andVigo.[32]
In France 240,000 customers were left without electricity, of which 130,000 were in Brittany.[23] InCornwall, 2,700 homes were reported to be without power,[19] with 100,000 homes reported without power across Southern England. A maximum of 88,000 homes were left without power in Spanish Galicia.[22] Ireland saw up to 30,000 customers without power from the storm.[33]
Saturated ground led to localised flooding in southern England (see first paragraph of Impact). A major incident was declared in the region ofLeatherhead andDorking with Fire Brigade unions calling off a planned strike in Surrey and Kent. An Environment Agency spokesman said flooding in Kent and Sussex were the worst to hit the area sinceAutumn 2000. In France the Breton town ofMorlaix reported flooding.[21]
In France a 12-year-old boy was killed by a falling wall inVire, lower Normandy.[23] A Russian seaman was missing from the cargo shipVictoriaborg 220 km (140 mi) northwest of Brest in the storm.[23] In the United Kingdom casualties included two men in England and one woman in Wales, with a further woman casualty in a car accident in Shropshire in what was described as "difficult weather conditions".[34]
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Manuel Valls theFrench Minister of the Interior while visiting the heavily affected region of Brittany, said an error had been made in the forecasting and preparation for the Dirk storm.[35] He said that officials had severely underestimated the danger posed, and orderedPrefects to investigate what preparations and warnings were undertaken, saying that decrees describing the worst affected regions as 'natural catastrophes' (a constitutional French designation[36]) would be published rapidly.[35]
On 21 January 2014 theEnergy and Climate Change Select Committee of theHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom held a one-off evidence session on power disruption during Christmas and the New Year.[37] During the session the Energy Networks Association announced that around 750,000 customers lost electricity during the stormy period over Christmas, with 93-95% of these reconnected within 24 hours.[38] The House of Commons Energy Select Committee on 21 January 2014 was critical of the speed at which UK power networks responded, however the company[which?] said that it was now much quicker than it had been in the past at responding to incidents. Mark Mathieson, managing director of SSE's electricity networks, told the committee on 21 January that: "It was just the impact of the event. It was a massive event. Certainly we haven't seen damage like this in the south back from the early [19]90s and even back to theGreat Storm of 1987".[39] He said that "tried and tested" plans made by the power companies struggled as wind speeds escalated significantly, and predictions failed to estimate the duration of strong winds which resulted in greater damage, coupled with the national reach of the storm which prevented regional distribution companies relying on mutual aid from other regions.[40]
Gatwick Airport conducted its own investigation into the chaotic disruption caused at the airport on Christmas Eve, which saw police being brought in to help staff deal with passengers. The airport accepted all the investigation's recommendations and allocated £30 million for their implementation.[31]
On 3 February Perils AG announced an initial insured property loss estimate from the storm at €275 million,[41] which was subsequently raised to €352 million in the second loss estimate released 23 March 2014. The French Federation of Insurance Companies (FFSA) estimated the insured damage caused by storm Dirk to amount to 100 million euros in France,[42] causing more destruction and costing more to French insurance companies than tropicalCyclone Bejisa toRéunion andMauritius in early 2014.[43]
