Atlantic Storms - January 2012

[Hurricane Debby]

Wow, certainly wouldnt have had a bet on that

Very good and very funny !!!

[Andy Bown]

Not only was the squall line impressive and fun, the straight edge clearance of the cloud was stunning too.

Has the wind direction turned more northwesterly?

Yes as the LOW is pulling away towards the NE and the wind turning more NW.

EDIT : now heavy hail/rain and squally winds as showers are racing in from the WNW!

Edited January 3, 2012 by Andy Bown

[Heisenberg]

Very good and very funny !!!

I thank you. Im here all week. Dont forget to tip your waiter.

On a more serious note. Look all around, and nothing but blue sky....Dont you just love the weather (sometimes)....

[knocker]

Interesting high resolution Modis sat. image at 1300. Courtesy "NERC Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland" http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/

Edited January 3, 2012 by weather ship

[Hurricane Debby]

I thank you. Im here all week. Dont forget to tip your waiter.

On a more serious note. Look all around, and nothing but blue sky....Dont you just love the weather (sometimes)....

Got to be honest, yes I should love blue skies etc etc but I would rather the extreme stuff !! But at least now I can get on with some work....

[Liam J]

Probably one of the worse storms in recent years has just battered the country today, violent storm force 11 wind speeds well inland over Central Scotland with gusts of 90-100mph over highly populated areas, Northern Ireland recorded hurricane force winds (77mph) gusting 105mph. Elsewhere widespread severe gale 9 to storm 10 winds with gusts of 70-90mph from Northern England right down and along the south coast.

A very notable event, very much underestimated, no forecast or weather warning even hinted that this was going to a big one.

[Coast]

Interesting high resolution Modis sat. image at 1300. Courtesy "NERC Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland" http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/

Stunning capture showing nature at its best/worst. So is this the beginning of an interesting year Meteorologically speaking?

[Hurricane Debby]

Probably one of the worse storms in recent years has just battered the country today, violent storm force 11 wind speeds well inland over Central Scotland with gusts of 90-100mph over highly populated areas, Northern Ireland recorded hurricane force winds (77mph) gusting 105mph. Elsewhere widespread severe gale 9 to storm 10 winds with gusts of 70-90mph from Northern England right down and along the south coast.

A very notable event, very much underestimated, no forecast or weather warning even hinted that this was going to a big one.

Yet again !! Quelle surprise. Thats why I always take the opposite to what the MO forecasts.. I know we have no climate per se and that it must be difficult to predict and forecast our weather but from having followed this forum for the best part of god knows how long, they still won't even appear to take actual evidence as fact or time to put up the right warnings !!

[Richie V]

Interesting high resolution Modis sat. image at 1300. Courtesy "NERC Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland" http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/

My eyes are mysteriously drawn to the small cyclonic feature just off N Ireland

[Mapantz]

Well .. that was quite an unreal early morning down here. Strongest winds i've witnessed in quite a few years. Damage all over the place, including my own garden. Two friends in hospital from falling trees. Rain has just poured through my front door and soaked carpets. Trees down, power has been out etc ..

I would just like to tip my hat to those folks who were posting on here last night saying 'Just an averge Winter storm' or 'It's downgraded, nothing more than a windy night'

I don't claim to be an expert, but i can read certain aspects of the models. But to start saying it wasn't going to be anything special a good 10 hours before winds peaked is outrageous. Especially when you knock the MO for their warnings.

[Richie V]

Definately another spinning low just to the north west of N.I

http://www.yr.no/satellitt/europa_animasjon.html

[Liam J]

Just watched Border News, gusts of 90-100mph have been recorded over Cumbria with 800 homes with no power according to some Meto guy in the Borders region.

[Cloud 10]

Probably one of the worse storms in recent years has just battered the country today, violent storm force 11 wind speeds well inland over Central Scotland with gusts of 90-100mph over highly populated areas, Northern Ireland recorded hurricane force winds (77mph) gusting 105mph. Elsewhere widespread severe gale 9 to storm 10 winds with gusts of 70-90mph from Northern England right down and along the south coast.

A very notable event, very much underestimated, no forecast or weather warning even hinted that this was going to a big one.

Skywarn seemed on the ball?

**PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION**

ISSUED: 1400UTC MONDAY 2ND JANUARY 2012 (GB/SM/GJ)

SKYWARN UK HAS ISSUED A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING - PDS FOR THE FOLLOWING REGIONS:

PERTH & KINROSS

ANGUS & DUNDEE

STIRLINGSHIRE

ARGYLL & BUTE

CENTRAL BELT COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND

FIFE

DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY

BORDERS

CUMBRIA

NORTHUMBERLAND

TYNE & WEAR

COUNTY DURHAM

LANCASHIRE

NORTH YORKSHIRE

COUNTY LONDONDERRY

COUNTY ANTRIM

COUNTY TYRONE

COUNTY ARMAGH

COUNTY FERMANAGH

COUNTY DOWN

ISLE OF MAN

ANGLESEY

IN EFFECT FROM 0300UTC UNTIL 1500UTC TUESDAY 3RD JANUARY 2012

RAPIDLY DEVELOPING LOW SYSTEM CROSSING SCOTLAND, WITH POTENTIAL STING JET AND SEVERE GALES

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION; EXTREMELY SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED IMMINENTLY, OR OCCURRING, SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE REGIONS INDICATED. THREATS WITHIN THIS WARNING INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

SEVERE GALES...STRONGER GUSTS...DAMAGING GUSTS

DISCUSSION:

AS A RAPIDLY DEEPENING LOW CROSSES SCOTLAND, THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A DEEP WINDFIELD IN EXCESS OF 100MPH TO BE BROUGHT TO SURFACE WITHIN A MEAN WIND FLOW OF 70MPH. GUSTS WILL BE POTENTIALLY EXCEEDING 90MPH, PARTICULARLY OVER HIGH GROUND AND EXPOSED AREAS FURTHER EAST. THESE WINDS POSE A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, DISRUPTION TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND A RISK OF INJURY. PLEASE MONITOR WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO.

[Insert Name Here]

Winds getting back up here now and in a sleet blizzard at the mo.

[Liam J]

Skywarn seemed on the ball?

**PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION**

ISSUED: 1400UTC MONDAY 2ND JANUARY 2012 (GB/SM/GJ)

SKYWARN UK HAS ISSUED A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING - PDS FOR THE FOLLOWING REGIONS:

PERTH & KINROSS

ANGUS & DUNDEE

STIRLINGSHIRE

ARGYLL & BUTE

CENTRAL BELT COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND

FIFE

DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY

BORDERS

CUMBRIA

NORTHUMBERLAND

TYNE & WEAR

COUNTY DURHAM

LANCASHIRE

NORTH YORKSHIRE

COUNTY LONDONDERRY

COUNTY ANTRIM

COUNTY TYRONE

COUNTY ARMAGH

COUNTY FERMANAGH

COUNTY DOWN

ISLE OF MAN

ANGLESEY

IN EFFECT FROM 0300UTC UNTIL 1500UTC TUESDAY 3RD JANUARY 2012

RAPIDLY DEVELOPING LOW SYSTEM CROSSING SCOTLAND, WITH POTENTIAL STING JET AND SEVERE GALES

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION; EXTREMELY SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED IMMINENTLY, OR OCCURRING, SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE REGIONS INDICATED. THREATS WITHIN THIS WARNING INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

SEVERE GALES...STRONGER GUSTS...DAMAGING GUSTS

DISCUSSION:

AS A RAPIDLY DEEPENING LOW CROSSES SCOTLAND, THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A DEEP WINDFIELD IN EXCESS OF 100MPH TO BE BROUGHT TO SURFACE WITHIN A MEAN WIND FLOW OF 70MPH. GUSTS WILL BE POTENTIALLY EXCEEDING 90MPH, PARTICULARLY OVER HIGH GROUND AND EXPOSED AREAS FURTHER EAST. THESE WINDS POSE A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, DISRUPTION TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND A RISK OF INJURY. PLEASE MONITOR WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO.

Well done to Skywarn then, I didn't check this site and they have got it pretty much spot on.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Liam J

[martinj2]

Whats amazing is they are flying 160knots IAS indicated, but getting a GS of 101 knots at the moment lol! One of the a/c in LAM, when it's holding and being blown by the wind it's GS is 347kts! Compared to into wind being 200knots - I wouldn't want to fly today, moderate/severe turbulence!!

Thanks for the reply Robbie and others (I couldn't get back on here for a couple of hours due toSQL error on NW server).

that IAS and GS difference is truly amazing.....no I'm not flying today and I'm so glad!

Just watching a Dash 8 800 struggling to turn finals 26 Eggp!

[Lt. Dan]

Definately another spinning low just to the north west of N.I

http://www.yr.no/sat..._animasjon.html

I spotted that earlier as well but not too sure what to make of it, the SatRep website had it marked as a Polar Low earlier this morning but don't really know much about those! Anybody got an idea what that might be?

[Coast]

ESSL database has two reports for today already:

Severe wind

Edinburgh

Forth Road Bridge Scotland United Kingdom (55.95 N, 3.20 W) (+/- 3 km)

03-01-2012 (Tuesday) 08:35 UTC (+/- 1 hrs.)

Based on: information from a report on a websitewind speed: 41.1 m/s

10-minute average wind speed: 34 m/s

Accompanying weather: heavy rain.

Source: http://www.forthroadbridge.org/offline

Report status: as received (QC0)

Severe wind

Colchester

All of Essex England United Kingdom (51.88 N, 0.90 E)

03-01-2012 (Tuesday) 00:01 UTC (+/- 1 hrs.)

Based on: information from photo or video of the event, an eye-witness report, a television or radio broadcast, photograph(s) and/or video footage of the inflicted damage, an eyewitness report of the damagethe intensity rating was based on photograph(s) and/or video footage of the inflicted damage, an eyewitness report of the damage, severe wind.

Accompanying weather: hail >= 0.5 cm but < 2.0 in diameter, heavy rain, hail < 0.5 cm diameter, or snow pellets or snow grains.

News reports of 100+ trees down in and around Essex.

Report status: as received (QC0)

[cyclonic happiness]

I know it's awful and all that, but this is now my all time favourite weather photo

[Coast]

Now the downside of the excitement:

Man killed in January storms as 100mph winds batter Britain bringing flooding and power cuts

A 50-year-old man was killled when a tree fell on his van as fierce storms battered Britain bringing heavy rain and winds gusting at more than 100mph.

The van driver was crushed by a falling branch in high winds in Tunbridge Wells, Kent Police said. Around the country trees fell onto railway tracks and power lines, lorries toppled over on busy roads and local authorities issued flood warnings after rivers swelled. High seas caused the Port of Dover to close, gusts of wind damaged the roof to a stand at Epsom Downs Racecourse and a power surge led to a washing machine catching fire in Wales.

Commuters faced travel chaos as the bad weather meant some East Coast main line trains between London and Scotland had to start and terminate at Newcastle upon Tyne. Buses replaced trains on some rail services between London and Harrogate and Hull, while drivers planning to use the Dartford Crossing between Kent and Essex were advised of possible delays due to gale-force winds.

Gemma Plumb, a forecaster from Meteogroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Everywhere has seen strong winds today.

"So far we've seen gusts across central and southern parts of Scotland of 85 to 97mph. "That's an hourly figure, so there's a chance there may have been stronger gusts of more than 100mph. "We are seeing gusts of 65 to 75mph across northern parts of England, and gusts of 60 to 70mph across Wales and the south coast of England."

Figures published by the Met Office reported wind speeds of 106mph at Great Dun Fell in the north Pennines and 102mph in Edinburgh. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings across many regions. Forecasters have told those living in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be prepared, while localised flooding and a marked drop in temperature is expected for parts of Wales and north-west England. Scotland is braced for the harshest weather conditions: the Met Office has issued warnings for both snow and wind. But it is unlikely that any area will escape higher winds than normal.

A bus driver had to be freed after a large tree fell on his vehicle, trapping him inside in Witley, Surrey. The single-decker Stagecoach bus was in Petworth Road when the oak tree, measuring 6ft across, fell on to it at about 8.25am. A Surrey Police spokesman said: "It is believed that the driver, who was freed by fire crews, has suffered serious injuries and he is being taken to St George's Hospital in Tooting. "There was only one passenger on board the bus at the time of the incident, who escaped uninjured. "The tree is also believed to have damaged a nearby building."

Britain's biggest port, at Felixstowe was expected to remain closed for the rest of the day as lethal storms rage across the North Sea. The QEII Bridge on the M25 between Essex and Kent at Dartford was shut after the Highways Agency said it was too dangerous to let traffic across. Fallen trees and flooding also caused problems on many roads in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Surrey Police said traffic was delayed across the county as fallen trees closed roads, including the A287 Hindhead Road between Hindhead and Haslemere. In West Sussex, flooding closed a lane on the eastbound A27 Chichester by-pass between Fishbourne Road and Oving Road and the B2100 was blocked both ways between Wadhurst and Mark Cross in East Sussex.

Meanwhile in the Thames Valley, hundreds of homes were plunged into darkness after the storms brought down power lines across the Reading area of Berkshire. And in the South West, the Environment Agency has "yellow" flood alerts active on 21 rivers from Cornwall to Wiltshire. The Tamar Bridge, which spans the river between Devon and Cornwall, has been closed to high-sided vehicles because of strong winds. First Great Western rail services between Truro and Penzance are being affected by an obstruction blocking "all lines". Transmanche cancelled its ferry services between Newhaven, in East Sussex, and Dieppe, as forecasters predicted gusts topping 70mph.

Wightlink cancelled its crossing from Lymington, Hants., to Yarmouth, on the Isle of Wight, while people heading to Dover were warned their ferries could also be affected by the high winds. In Lymington itself, the A337 Southampton Road was blocked, due to a fallen tree, as was Bartons Way, in Havant, Hants., where a tree had fallen onto a parked car. In Hamble Lane, in Bursledon, Hants., a telegraph pole was blown down, causing traffic chaos on surrounding roads as engineers had to make the area safe before removing the pole. Fallen trees also blocked the A333 at Blashford and Newtown Road, in Southampton. Parts of the south coast city were left in the dark as the weather caused power cuts

The latest round of unsettled weather will add more misery to the January blues as people return to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Parts of Wales have seen gusts of more than 90mph in the early hours of today, with gusts of 93mph hitting Aberdaron in north Wales. Weather experts predicted a marked drop in temperature yesterday, with the unusually mild conditions that prevailed over Christmas and the New Year making way for more seasonal mercury readings. The Met Office said: ''A spell of wet and very windy weather will affect the UK during Tuesday.''

http://www.telegraph...power-cuts.html

[Lauren]

RIP

[martinj2]

I spotted that earlier as well but not too sure what to make of it, the SatRep website had it marked as a Polar Low earlier this morning but don't really know much about those! Anybody got an idea what that might be?

Looks like someting is forming there, but what a fantastic hook on 'our' storm towards the end of the sequence.

http://www.yr.no/sat..._animasjon.html

Edited January 3, 2012 by martinj2

[Robbie Garrett]

Just had a nasty squall go through north,north east kent and to my surprise it even contained HAIL!. I could hear it smacking up against the window as i opened the door I was pushed back by the wind and could see the hail on the ground leaving a slushy mix on the car!

Yeah that was rather intense, not really something the UK gets for long periods. Couldn't see out the window at one point. I do believe that it gusted to 70mph at one point (METAR for that hour said 50+mph), that would not have included the instant wind on touchdown/take-off or anywhere.

Thanks for the reply Robbie and others (I couldn't get back on here for a couple of hours due toSQL error on NW server).

that IAS and GS difference is truly amazing.....no I'm not flying today and I'm so glad!

Just watching a Dash 8 800 struggling to turn finals 26 Eggp!

No worries, that is rather immense.

RIP to the guy who died

Edited January 3, 2012 by Robbie Garrett

[Heisenberg]

Got to be honest, yes I should love blue skies etc etc but I would rather the extreme stuff !! But at least now I can get on with some work....

TBH, I agree with you. I would rather have something extreme (as long as no one dies which sadly someone has), but its far more exciting than the "norm"....

[I Cumbria Marra I]

Think the wind has picked up again here