Storm Eunice - 18th February

[sunnijim]

13 minutes ago, Midlander said:

A great tweet thread comparing against past storms, that I'm sure many will find interesting.

Based on the windspeed data for Brum (Coleshill) Eunice beats:

• Katie
• St Jude
• Valentine

This is of course not representative of everywhere in the country or Midlands.  Doris, Ciara remain those which stand out to me in recent years.

 

 

Again, just to be accurate rather than sensationalise.

Gusts were not widely 80mph to 90mph on coasts! 

A few very exposed spots got there.

75mph to 80mph far more realistic as a benchmark.

Yes,just inland of the coast 70mph to 75mph seemed common.THIS is the part that for me can be argued makes this storm once in 10 year event,nothing else.

[Gowon]

55 minutes ago, MattStoke said:

More than thousands of felled trees, power cuts, 4 deaths, numerous injuries, structural damage, the strongest English wind gust on record, and coastal floods, apparently.

Less warning would have resulted in more deaths. Maybe that at least might have satisfied those who moan that it was overhyped.

Todays storm was bad in terms of structural damage (and for the families who lost loved ones) but I wonder if those 4 deaths would have happened if Eunice had struck during the night like the 1987 storm which still managed to kill 18 people?

 

The Great Storm of 1987

WWW.METOFFICE.GOV.UK

---

A powerful storm ravaged many parts of the UK in the middle of October 1987.

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by D.V.R

[Nick L]

1 minute ago, D.V.R said:

Todays storm was bad in terms of structural damage, but I wonder if those 4 deaths would have happened if Eunice had struck during the night like the 1987 storm which still managed to kill 18 people?

 

The Great Storm of 1987

WWW.METOFFICE.GOV.UK

---

A powerful storm ravaged many parts of the UK in the middle of October 1987.

 

I'm not so sure. The time of year was more important I think, as far more trees came down thanks to them having most of their leaves on.

[Man With Beard]

Just now, D.V.R said:

Todays storm was bad in terms of structural damage, but I wonder if those 4 deaths would have happened if Eunice had struck during the night like the 1987 storm which still managed to kill 18 people?

 

The Great Storm of 1987

WWW.METOFFICE.GOV.UK

---

A powerful storm ravaged many parts of the UK in the middle of October 1987.

 

I think lives were saved by the red warnings today, and the preparedness. Noone was out and about where I was apart from a couple of dog walkers. Tree surgeons got straight to trees blocking roads within the hour. Like many others, I'd taken precautions last night with any loose outdoor objects. In 1987, noone had a clue what was going on. In 1990, we knew what was coming but for some bizarre reason we were still allowed to go to school, and go out at break time, and a massive tree nearly took out a load of school kids in the playground.

[Don]

7 minutes ago, Man With Beard said:

Funny feeling today. Anyone who knows me on this forum knows I'm a weather nut and I get excited about any kind of weather that's a bit different. Normally, during storms, thunder, blizzards, heatwaves, I'm loving it. But there was a point today where it turned and I stopped loving it - when tiles started coming off the roofs around me, the car over the road damaged by the roof falling on it and stuff started to hurl at my window. I realized if this didn't die down soon, I was in danger, either physically or financially!

Agreed, the storm was too extreme.  I was one of the lucky ones, but properties nearby suffered damage to their roofs and a tree near the village car park came down, landing on parked cars.

[snefnug]

1 minute ago, Nick L said:

I'm not so sure. The time of year was more important I think, as far more trees came down thanks to them having most of their leaves on.

Yes Nick, and thank you for making that comment.  No storm can be compared like for like.  Different seasons, wind directions, intensity, not to speak of  information output, public awareness, infrastructure security, availability of emergency services.  All make a difference.

[Gowon]

26 minutes ago, Man With Beard said:

Funny feeling today. Anyone who knows me on this forum knows I'm a weather nut and I get excited about any kind of weather that's a bit different. Normally, during storms, thunder, blizzards, heatwaves, I'm loving it. But there was a point today where it turned and I stopped loving it - when tiles started coming off the roofs around me, the car over the road damaged by the roof falling on it and stuff started to hurl at my window. I realized if this didn't die down soon, I was in danger, either physically or financially!

Sounds like you had a horrible experience.

I didn't get that feeling with today.

15 minutes ago, Man With Beard said:

I think lives were saved by the red warnings today, and the preparedness. Noone was out and about where I was apart from a couple of dog walkers. Tree surgeons got straight to trees blocking roads within the hour. Like many others, I'd taken precautions last night with any loose outdoor objects. In 1987, noone had a clue what was going on. In 1990, we knew what was coming but for some bizarre reason we were still allowed to go to school, and go out at break time, and a massive tree nearly took out a load of school kids in the playground.

Yeah that was crazy but tbh, I kinda enjoyed the experience of being out in that one - it got me addicted to using my dad's odd sheets of plywood and using them as sails on my body in the garden every time we had a gale.

Edited February 18, 2022 by D.V.R

[richie3846]

For all the worries of lack of communication earlier on, people did pay attention, stayed at home, saved lives. Wait, that sounds familiar...

 

Roads were dead round here, schools were shut, even Royal Mail shut down the main sorting office. I live along a busy footpath next to a woodland, and it's the quietest I've seen it. Almost nobody out, not even dog walkers. I took a walk later on and there were many large branches down. Some of those were large enough to kill. It was obvious that round these parts people were getting on with a pyjama day, and I've no doubt that many lives were saved by the sensible decisions taken by the public. We were in an amber area, and the worry about people thinking amber was less serious was unfounded in the end.

[Don]

30 minutes ago, Man With Beard said:

In 1990, we knew what was coming but for some bizarre reason we were still allowed to go to school, and go out at break time, and a massive tree nearly took out a load of school kids in the playground.

We were made to do outdoor PE during that storm!  Not for long though, as kids (myself included) were lifted off their feet when trying to play hockey!

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

Well, this has been a day to remember for me. The worst of our winds occurred when the switch to a W direction happened. That distinct quasi roaring sound was present and I witnessed a tree topple over infront of me, just outside Lynn. It was getting on borderline scary. Also damage to the OHL equipment and wires on the local rail line. Many trees down and lorries overturned. 
Some of the pictures and videos look truly horrific and downright frightening. Not only this, but the seas just off here even on the E coast are mountainous! 
Seems like it’s finally easing now, but yep, I won’t forget this day in a hurry. 
Glad you are all still here, that’s the main thing. 

[ChannelThunder]

50 minutes ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

Ours was big! We drove to Sainsbury's other side of town for more candles and supplies and free internet lol. Played frustration board game, crafting, books, took kids to the park after 3. Local Tesco's was closed. It was quite the experience. My stomach is still in knots!

Yeah, my workplace is in Winchester at the Council (WFH 80% of the time, moved back to the island during covid) and my colleagues that live there all lost internet/power shortly after me! Looks like the old Badger Farm Sainsbury's was your saviour today!

[legritter]

Hi gang ,just thinking about the great snowstorm of February 18th 1978 ,  on the tuesday 14th feb the fax for later that week showed a forming low pressure moving south east from s ireland ,will it bring snow to southern uk ,those 4 days before arrival were nail biting for me , what a difference 44 yrs make in meteorology , but even in this modern age with more computers the weather still as surprises , its certainly been a very interesting time this storm watching, i need a good nights sleep tonight ,so please no surprises ,cheers gang .

[phil b]

1 hour ago, Lord Grogon said:

Ha. You can always tell a persons age by the raves they attended.

ahh Dreamscape that takes me back 

[Kirkcaldy Weather]

My pressure stats and comparing to the other storms this winter 

Eunice - low pressure 968.91hpa (drop of 27.4hpa from midnight) 

Arwen - low pressure 982.80hpa

Barra - low pressure 967.29 (pressure drop of 30.61hpa) 

Malik - low pressure 1002.20hpa 

Corrie - low pressure 1001.49hpa (pressure drop of 27.29hpa)

 

[John Stevens]

I have to say we were lucky today… we got off the IOW at a time when the winds were beginning to ease, when no other ferries (not even Dover) were running…we got across, got home easily, albeit the last three miles, taking 1/2 an hour,  were hampered by structural damage and fallen trees…. Oh and the power is out until tomorrow pm…. Honestly I think the warnings were correct! 
 

it wasn’t, thank God, as bad as 87/ 90 vividly remember them both and have been telling my daughter the stories this evening about 87…. But it certainly wasn’t pleasant….

 

 Anyway, have certainly enjoyed the comeraderi and community on here today (despite a couple of knobs!)

…whoever first posted Big Jet TV this morning was a genius when we were waiting patiently for the IOW ferry! Great posts! 

[DaveL]

2 hours ago, Man With Beard said:

Just for your own interest, the BBC shared a diagram earlier that had Southampton airport down for a max gust of 79mph today.

Thanks for that, it's a bit of a puzzle actually as I've just checked back (South Today) and it just says "Southampton" 79 mph. The highest METAR gust reported from the airport is 56 knots i.e. 64 mph but may not be complete of course, but I notice that Southampton Dockhead reported 79 or 80 knots (91 or 92 mph) at 11 am. So I suspect the weather presenter either misread the chart or it's a report from Southampton Oceanography Centre, they have an anemometer on the roof (that's also at the docks).

But heck, 91 mph, not on the coast and not on a cliff. Crikey.

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by DaveL

[Roger J Smith]

With the 1987 storm, was there not a well-organized squall line that was the focus of the strongest wind gusts? I realize it kept blowing at strong levels for hours after that, but the squall line feature was probably what separates these two events more than the peak winds observed. 

I wonder if storm Eunice perhaps resembles to some extent the Defoe storm of 1703, if you imagine today's events in the context of the maritime and land conditions of that era, similar outcomes might have been found. Different today more because of better building standards and the warnings to maritime traffic, combined with not having a sailing ship fleet in harm's way. The 1703 storm had probably a greater storm surge into the Severn estuary but it happened at a perigeean new moon which would create a higher storm surge from the same storm conditions (today being 48h after a full moon). Historical trivia, most would recall the 1703 storm as occurring 26-27 Nov, but that was in the Julian calendar, in the Gregorian calendar it was 7-8 Dec. To be more precise, I would estimate today's storm might be something like a 90% scale model of the 1703 storm. 

[Nick F]

4 minutes ago, Roger J Smith said:

With the 1987 storm, was there not a well-organized squall line that was the focus of the strongest wind gusts? I realize it kept blowing at strong levels for hours after that, but the squall line feature was probably what separates these two events more than the peak winds observed. 

I wonder if storm Eunice perhaps resembles to some extent the Defoe storm of 1703, if you imagine today's events in the context of the maritime and land conditions of that era, similar outcomes might have been found. Different today more because of better building standards and the warnings to maritime traffic, combined with not having a sailing ship fleet in harm's way. The 1703 storm had probably a greater storm surge into the Severn estuary but it happened at a perigeean new moon which would create a higher storm surge from the same storm conditions (today being 48h after a full moon). Historical trivia, most would recall the 1703 storm as occurring 26-27 Nov, but that was in the Julian calendar, in the Gregorian calendar it was 7-8 Dec. To be more precise, I would estimate today's storm might be something like a 90% scale model of the 1703 storm. 

I think it was the presence of.a sting jet in 1987 storm that caused voilent gusts, 90mph inland across the SE, even parts of London. With trees in full leaf too it was devastating. At least we were spared a SJ today, as these bring the gusts over 90mph inland rather than just coasts. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Nick F

[ChannelThunder]

4 minutes ago, Roger J Smith said:

With the 1987 storm, was there not a well-organized squall line that was the focus of the strongest wind gusts? I realize it kept blowing at strong levels for hours after that, but the squall line feature was probably what separates these two events more than the peak winds observed. 

I wonder if storm Eunice perhaps resembles to some extent the Defoe storm of 1703, if you imagine today's events in the context of the maritime and land conditions of that era, similar outcomes might have been found. Different today more because of better building standards and the warnings to maritime traffic, combined with not having a sailing ship fleet in harm's way. The 1703 storm had probably a greater storm surge into the Severn estuary but it happened at a perigeean new moon which would create a higher storm surge from the same storm conditions (today being 48h after a full moon). Historical trivia, most would recall the 1703 storm as occurring 26-27 Nov, but that was in the Julian calendar, in the Gregorian calendar it was 7-8 Dec. To be more precise, I would estimate today's storm might be something like a 90% scale model of the 1703 storm. 

Going by many of the posts in here over the last few days (I was 3 weeks old so don't remember!), it was a sting jet that caused most of the damage in '87.

Edit: beaten to it by Nick

Edited February 18, 2022 by Lance M

[Ice Day]

Thank goodness that's over. As a lifelong weather nut, I really found today and the build up a bit of a stressful experience.... probably scar tissue from 1987!

Lots of talk about where this sits in the pantheon of great UK storms. I would have 87 in first place, 90 in second, with today level pegging with the St Jude storm. What makes today more notable for me is the distribution of high winds around the southern UK, below are the weather stations showing significant gusts.

> 80mph - 10 

> 75mph - 23

> 70mph - 40

> 65mph - 80

That's 80 station's recording gusts of 65mph or over... impressive!

Added to this, we also have the highest gust recorded in England at 122mph (or maybe 125?).

Finally, unfortunately we also have had loss of life in Ireland, UK and the Netherlands. Awful news for those involved.

For these reasons, I would say this will live long in the memory. 

One other point, despite some ill feeling towards the Met Office on here, I think they did a pretty good job overall, but I think they're hamstrung by the current warning system. An overhaul should be considered as part of the post mortem.

 

 

[Nick L]

4 minutes ago, Ice Day said:

 

One other point, despite some ill feeling towards the Met Office on here, I think they did a pretty good job overall, but I think they're hamstrung by the current warning system. An overhaul should be considered as part of the post mortem.

 

 

There's certainly an element of this. A rigid and unwavering adherence to protocol over common sense needs to be addressed. 

[SnowBear]

I note many are saying there is a need for an overhaul of the Met Office warning system. 

What and how do people think this needs to change?

Is it the system or perhaps the communication of that system to the public? 

What system would you use? 

(Mods, if you feels this warrants a separate thread, please do split this post off into a new one.) 

[ShinyDave]

4 minutes ago, Ice Day said:

One other point, despite some ill feeling towards the Met Office on here, I think they did a pretty good job overall, but I think they're hamstrung by the current warning system. An overhaul should be considered as part of the post mortem.

I think I would agree with this. They needed to have maximum certainty of maximum impact when going to red, and that was just too much to commit to until a very awkward time. The colour coding has an undeniably appealing simplicity - the value of which should not be underestimated - but major incidents are where systems get stress-tested and lessons learned, and I think a Red Watch for high impact/medium probability situations would be apt, with a messaging emphasis on "employers and services should anticipate that red-level impacts will occur and respond accordingly in case they do." Of course too many even in the actual red area don't (not to mention how many can't!), but that's another rant...

That turned out to be a very lucky escape for me, considering someone's house in this very city got condemned by wind damage. I don't even think we have any damage at all here, as the hill fort to our west really did buffer us from the strongest winds. The worst of the noise and anxiety was definitely in the first half of the red warning window when they were still more southerly here (meaning they were largely unimpeded by terrain or even buildings), and I know that wasn't the actual wind peak.

I've just had an afternoon/evening's sleep and now have to patch together my sleep pattern again, but I know how much worse that could have been.

[Notty]

Whatever the warning system, they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. C’est la vie.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

41 minutes ago, Lance M said:

Yeah, my workplace is in Winchester at the Council (WFH 80% of the time, moved back to the island during covid) and my colleagues that live there all lost internet/power shortly after me! Looks like the old Badger Farm Sainsbury's was your saviour today!

Dunno how well you know Winch but we are in Harestock. And we drove through weeke and they had power! Would could see their street lamps on from our house up the hill. Badgers totally was!!