Weather Warnings
Bert brought heavy snow and ice to parts of the UK,particularly in the north,on Thursday and Friday. As the storm passed,heavy rain affected southern and western regions over the weekend. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings and the UK Health Security Agency has issued cold weather alerts. Drivers were advised to take extra care on the roads due to icy conditions. [4]
An amber snow and ice warning was placed for parts of central Scotland,which included parts of Angus,Perth and Kinross,Stirling,Aberdeenshire,the Highlands,and Argyll and Bute. The warning was originally in place from 07:00–17:00 GMT on 23 November but expired earlier. There was also one for northern England from 06:00–11:59. Several yellow wind and rain warnings were issued for parts of England and Wales. A yellow wind warning was issued for the same areas,excluding Angus,and also included Eileanan Siar and Moray. A yellow warning of rain was also issued which included parts of Angus,Clackmannanshire,Perth and Kinross,Stirling,Aberdeenshire,Moray,Dumfries and Galloway,and the Scottish Borders. [5] The next day a yellow wind warning was issued for the Midlands,East Anglia and the London area. [6]
For Ireland,similar impacts are expected from Storm Bert,with Met Éireann issued yellow wind and rain warnings for the whole country. These are likely to be changed and updated as the system nears. [7]
Cyclone Hergen was an intense European windstorm that moved across Northern Europe during mid December 2011. It was first noted over the central North Atlantic Ocean by the Met Office. It then later reached peak intensity just northwest of Ireland and then crossed the north of Scotland hours later. It hung around the coast of Norway for the next week before being absorbed by another strong windstorm named Joachim.
The 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season was the first instance of the United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann naming extratropical cyclones. The season started on 10 November with the naming of Storm Abigail and ended on 28 March with the dissipation of Storm Katie. With a total of eleven named storms, the 2015–16 season is the most active to date.
Storm Darwin a European windstorm that hit Western Europe, particularly Ireland and the United Kingdom on 12 February 2014. The storm brought hurricane-force winds to Ireland the with the Met Office and Met Éireann describing the storm as one of the most significant to affect Ireland, Wales and West England in recent decades. Tini was one of the strongest storms of the 2013–2014 Atlantic winter storms in Europe, and also brought heavy across the UK and Ireland exacerbating the 2013–2014 United Kingdom winter floods, and may have been the most damaging storm of the period.
Storm Desmond was an extratropical cyclone and fourth named storm of the 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season, notable for directing a plume of moist air, known as an atmospheric river, which brought record amounts of orographic rainfall to upland areas of northern Atlantic Europe and subsequent major floods.
The 2016–17 UK and Ireland windstorm season was the second instance of the United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann naming extratropical cyclones. Substantially less active than the previous season, the season succeeded the 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season and preceded the 2017–18 European windstorm season.
The 2017–2018 European windstorm season was the third instance of seasonal European windstorm naming. France, Spain and Portugal took part in winter storm naming for the first time this season.
Hurricane Ophelia was regarded as the worst storm to affect Ireland in 50 years, and was also the easternmost Atlantic major hurricane on record. The tenth and final consecutive hurricane and the sixth major hurricane of the very active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Ophelia had non-tropical origins from a decaying cold front on 6 October. Located within a favorable environment, the storm steadily strengthened over the next two days, drifting north and then southeastwards before becoming a hurricane on 11 October. After becoming a Category 2 hurricane and fluctuating in intensity for a day, Ophelia intensified into a major hurricane on 14 October south of the Azores, brushing the archipelago with high winds and heavy rainfall. Shortly after achieving peak intensity, Ophelia began weakening as it accelerated over progressively colder waters to its northeast towards Ireland and Great Britain. Completing an extratropical transition early on 16 October, Ophelia became the second storm of the 2017–18 European windstorm season. Early on 17 October, the cyclone crossed the North Sea and struck western Norway, with wind gusts up to 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) in Rogaland county, before weakening during the evening of 17 October. The system then moved across Scandinavia, before dissipating over Norway on the next day.
The 2018–2019 European windstorm season was the fourth instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. Most storms form between September and March. The first named storm, Ali, affected primarily the United Kingdom and Ireland on 19 September 2018.
The 2019–20 European windstorm season was the fifth instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. This is the first season in which the Netherlands meteorological authority took part, joining those of Ireland and the United Kingdom. It comprised a year from 1 September to 31 August, however names were announced six days into that year. The Portuguese, Spanish and French meteorological agencies again collaborated too, joined by the Belgian meteorological agency.
Storm Ciara was a powerful and long-lived extratropical cyclone that was the first of a pair of European windstorms to affect the United Kingdom and Ireland at peak intensity less than a week apart in early February 2020, followed by Storm Dennis a week later. Ciara caused widespread wind and flooding damage across Europe, and at least 13 fatalities.
Storm Dennis was a European windstorm which, in February 2020, became one of the most intense extratropical cyclones ever recorded, reaching a minimum central pressure of 920 millibars. The thirteenth named storm of the 2019–20 European windstorm season, Dennis affected the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom less than a week after Storm Ciara, exacerbating the impacts from that storm amidst ongoing flooding in the latter country.
The 2020–2021 European windstorm season was the sixth instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. This is the second season in which the Netherlands participates, joining Ireland's and the United Kingdom's meteorological agencies. It comprised a year from 1 September to 31 August. The Portuguese, Spanish, and French meteorological agencies will again collaborate too, joined by the Belgian meteorological agency.
Storm Alex was a powerful early-season extratropical cyclone that was particularly notable for its extreme flooding around the Mediterranean. Alex caused widespread wind and flooding damage across Europe, and at least 16 fatalities, with one more 1 person missing. Alex was the first named storm in the 2020–21 European windstorm season.
The 2021–22 European windstorm season was the seventh instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. This was the third season in which the Netherlands participated, alongside the meteorological agencies of Ireland and the United Kingdom. It comprised a year from 1 September to 31 August, except in the Eastern Mediterranean Group which is shifted a month later. The Portuguese, Spanish, French and Belgian meteorological agencies collaborated again, for the fifth time, joined by the Luxembourg meteorological agency. This was the first season when Greece, Israel and Cyprus, and Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta named storms which affected their areas.
Storm Arwen was a powerful extratropical cyclone that was part of the 2021–22 European windstorm season. It affected the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, bringing strong winds and snow. Storm Arwen caused at least three fatalities and widespread power outages. Damage was exacerbated by the fact that the strong winds came unusually from the north.
Storm Barra was a hurricane-force extratropical bomb cyclone in the North Atlantic Ocean that impacted Ireland and the United Kingdom with damaging gusts and heavy rainfall. Barra was also the reason for one of Navarre in Spain's worst floods in two decades. A surface low first developed over the Atlantic Ocean, which would eventually become Barra. This system rapidly intensified owing to approaching Ireland, bottoming from 1,010 to 956 hectopascals (29.8–28.2 inHg) in just 24 hours. It then impacted the country, before weakening and moving through the United Kingdom. As it entered the North Sea, it further degraded and was absorbed by the frontal system of "Justus", an extratropical cyclone named by the Free University of Berlin (FUB).
The 2022–23 European windstorm season was the deadliest and costliest European windstorm season on record, mainly because of the impact in Northern Libya of Storm Daniel, which became the deadliest and costliest medicane ever recorded as well as the deadliest tropical or subtropical system worldwide since 2008.
The 2023–2024 European windstorm season was the ninth season of the European windstorm naming in Europe. It comprised a year, from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. This was the fifth season where the Netherlands participated, alongside the United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann in the western group. The Portuguese, Spanish, French and Belgian meteorological agencies collaborated for the seventh time, joined by Luxembourg's agency. This was the third season where Greece, Israel and Cyprus, and Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta named storms which affected their areas.
The 2024–2025 European windstorm season is the tenth and current season. It comprises a year, from 1 September to 31 August, except shifted a month later in the Eastern Mediterranean Group. The storm names were announced four days before the start of the season on 28 August 2024. This was the sixth season in which the Netherlands participated alongside the United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann in the western group. The Portuguese, Spanish, French and Belgian meteorological agencies collaborated for the eighth time, joined by Luxembourg's agency. This is the fourth season of the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Mediterranean groups, in which they comprised respectively: Greece, Israel and Cyprus; and Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta.
Storm Darragh was an extratropical cyclone which severely impacted the British Isles in December 2024. The fourth named storm of the 2024–25 European windstorm season, Darragh was named by the UK Met Office on 5 December 2024.
