Storm tides of the North Sea

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The Christmas Flood of 1717 Christmas flood 1717.jpg
The Christmas Flood of 1717

Storm tides of the North Sea are coastal floods associated with extratropical cyclones crossing over the North Sea, the severity of which is affected by the shallowness of the sea and the orientation of the shoreline relative to the storm's path, as well as the timing of tides. The water level can rise to more than 5 metres (17 ft) above the normal tide as a result of storm tides.

Contents

Northern Germany and Denmark are particularly susceptible to storm tides. The coastline of the German Bight forms an L-shape facing northwest. Also vulnerable are the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, where the sea shallows and is funnelled toward the English Channel.

Storm tides are a regular occurrence in the North Sea basin; several form each year. Although most do not cause significant damage, the impact of some has been devastating. During one, the February flood of 1825, the Danish coastline changed, as the North Jutlandic Island became separated from the Jutland Peninsula. [1]

Major storm tides

Recent storm tides

The flood of 1976 and the "North Frisian Flood" of 1981 brought the highest water levels measured to date on the North Sea coast, but because of sea defences such as improved warning systems and dikes built and modified after the flood of 1962, these led only to property damage. [17] [18]

Comparative table of surge heights along the east coast of Britain

Water levels during the storm surges of 1953, 1976, 1978, [19] 1983, 1993, 2006 and 2013 (metres O.D.)
Location1953 evening tide1976 evening tide1978 observed evening tide1983 February [20] 1993 January/February 19932006 November 1 2013 December 5 [21]
Wick3.922.07
North Shields3.323.433.523.58
Barton on Humber5.15
South Ferriby4.795.305.30
Immingham4.504.504.675.80
Grimsby4.354.50
Boygrift4.304.50
Boston Dock5.255.245.50
Boston Grand Sluice5.405.225.63
Boston6.10 [22]
Fosdykeca. 5.405.185.90
Wisbechca. 5.104.995.60
King's Lynn5.654.995.92
Wells5.134.464.915.31 [23]
Great Yarmouth3.282.692.192.59-2.52-
Haddiscoe--1.761.701.581.74-
Lowestoft------2.97
Southwold3.502.502.00
Aldeburgh3.782.832.45
Sheerness--3.00 [24]

See also

References

  1. "Vendsyssel-Thy – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  2. This event is recorded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: "This year on Michaelmas Eve came the great sea-flood widely through the land, and it ran farther up than it ever had, flooded many towns, and drowned countless human beings."
  3. "Flood alert!" (PDF). Met Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  4. Friedrich Arends (1837). "Natuurkundige geschiedenis van de kusten der Noordzee".
  5. "netherlands map and map of the netherlands information page". Graphic Maps. World Atlas.com. 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  6. Services, Lindsey Archaeological (1995). "Newton Marsh Sewage Treatment Works, Tetney, Lincolnshire" (PDF). Archaeological Monitoring of Project Clear Water. doi:10.5284/1014822 . Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  7. "Thames Barrier Project Pack 2012" (PDF). Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  8. "200 years since flood to end all floods..." Lincolnshire Echo. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  9. "Coastal Flood Risk and Trends for the future in the North Sea Region" (PDF). Safecoast. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  10. Corkan, R. H. (4 July 1950). "The Levels in the North Sea Associated with the Storm Disturbance of 8 January 1949". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 242 (853): 493–525. Bibcode:1950RSPTA.242..493C. doi:10.1098/rsta.1950.0008. S2CID   123438147.
  11. Pratt, Ian (1 February 1995). "The storm surge of 21 February 1993". Weather. 50 (2): 42–48. Bibcode:1995Wthr...50...42P. doi:10.1002/j.1477-8696.1995.tb06075.x.
  12. Batson, Richard (10 October 2013). "Video: Walcott relief as high tide passes without major flooding". Eastern Daily Press 24. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  13. "Communities urged to prepare for worst east coast tidal surge in 30 years". Environment Agency. 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  14. "Tief "Axel": Behörde warnt vor heftiger Sturmflut" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  15. "– Vannstanden blir enda høyere enn vi trodde". NRK. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  16. "Severe flood warnings: Storm surge preparations made". BBC News. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  17. Lamb, H. H. (1988). Weather, Climate & Human Affairs: A Book of Essays and Other Papers (illustrated ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 187. ISBN   9780415006743.
  18. Lamb, Hubert; Knud Frydendahl (2005). Historic Storms of the North Sea, British Isles and North-west Europe. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-61931-8.
  19. Steers, J. A.; Stoddart, D. R.; Bayliss-Smith, T. P.; Spencer, T.; Durbidge, P. M. (July 1979). "The Storm Surge of 11 January 1978 on the East Coast of England". The Geographical Journal. 145 (2): 192–205. doi:10.2307/634386. JSTOR   634386.
  20. "Partnership of Norfolk district councils strategic flood risk assessment" (PDF). South Norfolk Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  21. "SEA LEVEL STATION MONITORING FACILITY". UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  22. "Boston High Tide and Surge Tide Briefing". Environment Agency. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  23. Spencer, Thomas; Brooks, Susan M.; Möller, Iris; Evans, Ben R. (29 July 2014). "Where Local Matters: Impacts of a Major North Sea Storm Surge". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 95 (30): 269–270. Bibcode:2014EOSTr..95..269S. doi: 10.1002/2014EO300002 .
  24. "6 December 2013: Severe weather — Northern Europe" (PDF). European Commission. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.

Further reading