Cyclone Dirk
Called hurricane Dirk in the media also Christmas hurricane, was a. Than storm that caused the Monday 23, 2013 captured large parts of western Europe until Wednesday, the 25th of December and for some considerable damage In parallel, there was in the eastern part of Europe to record heat, and in consequence to heavy snowfall in the Alps.
- 2.1 Ireland
- 2.2 United Kingdom
- 2.3 France
- 2.4 Spain
- 2.5 Switzerland
- 2.6 Italy
- 2.7 Austria
- 2.8 Poland
- 2.9 Denmark
Meteorology
Course
Dirk storm arose on December 22, 2013 in Newfoundland as a weak but fast eastward pulling depression. The core then experienced behind a strong Iceland low Christian explosive cyclogenesis. Monday afternoon, the 23th, had Dirk greatly enhanced and was lying off the coast of Ireland. From the afternoon there were in the lowlands first heavy squalls.
On Christmas Eve night, now a grown-up hurricane storm reached its climax in the heart of the air pressure dropped to below 940 hPa in the Isle of Lewis, the lowest recorded since 1886 value. The foothills of the unusually large storm covered here in Ireland, the UK, Spain, Portugal, France, the Benelux countries, North West Germany, Denmark and western Norway. At the same time it came before the storm front to an intense south- altitude winds, in the Alps with a strong hair dryer, as a typical Christmas thaw with some Christmas heat records. Wednesday the 25th, on Christmas Day, the low pressure area over the North Sea, the storm abated, the Südstömung grew even shifted.
A peak was recorded at the French station Iraty in the Pyrenees with 228 km / h. In the highlands of Scotland, 180 km / h In the English Channel up to 148 km / h ( 92 mph ) were measured on 24. The storm grew in the Swiss Alps to over 200 km / h, from the MeteoSwiss named as Föhnorkan ( Gütsch Andermatt to 2287 m peak wind 208 km / h, 3rd highest value in 1981 ). Area, it came to heavy rain, for example in Boscombe Down, Salisbury Plain UK, 66.7 liters within 24 hours ( the greatest there ever measured 24 - hour rainfall amount ), in Munsterland 37 l/24 h
Parallel recorded about half of all stations in Germany the warmest December 24 since the beginning of records, even Binningen in Basel Country 17.1 ° C ( the Föhnregionen of Switzerland 5-8 degrees above normal) dimension, Salzburg Alps at the northern edge of 15.6 ° C the mildest December 25, even in Moscow was 3.5 ° C, the warmest December day registered for over 100 years.
The low disintegrated 27th of the month at North Norway. But his occlusion had to Stephani Tags ( 26 ) formed over the Alps a wake vortex, which as a powerful - trained Mediterranean deep, and northern Italy to severe storms and in the Alps huge amounts of snow (Northern Ticino, Misox to 120 cm/24 h - a nameless, East Tyrol to 80 cm) led - in San Bernardino that was the most intense snowfall since measurements began in 1952.
Major climatic location
The event coincided with a phase of extremely strong global pressure fluctuations. Prevailed before Christmas in North America temperature differences of 60 ° C to a few thousand km ( Florida 30 ° C, 16 ° C New York, northern Midwest and Great Lakes from -15 to -30 ° C). Eastern Canada and parts of the U.S. were from 22 hit by a snow storm, here in Ontario were more 100.000ende households, good part in the Greater Toronto Area, on Christmas Eve without electricity ( Toronto ice storm ). A veritable heat wave affected the Vorweihnachtswochen eastern Siberia, Alaska and the northern west coast. A similar situation had prevailed extreme to North America in the first week of December, while in Europe the hurricane Xavier traversed. Then there had been around 13 December snow in the Levant to Israel. In East Asia, a cold air drop was around Christmas of Siberia abnormally high pushed far to the south, on the Thai- Lao border, there was frost, and Thailand experienced to Bangkok a cold walls of less than 20 ° C. In the Antarctic, there was extreme weather.
Follow
At least seven people died in the storm killed.
Ireland
In Ireland fell from power for 30,000 households.
United Kingdom
On the night of December 24, the ferry had to be stopped in the port of Dover. In southern England were over the holidays 150,000 households without electricity because of strong wind had cut lines. 1000 houses were flooded after heavy rain. In the north of Scotland and at London Gatwick Airport several flights were canceled.
In the UK, five people, including three dog owners who wanted to save their captured by floods animals died.
France
In Brittany and Normandy fell at noon on the 24th December in over 240,000 households in the power off, on Boxing Day, the supply for about 20,000 still was not restored. Here a child was killed by a collapsing wall, off the coast went by freighter Victoria Borg, a Russian sailor, with a gust of 120 km / h over board and drowned.
Spain
In Spain, especially Galicia region Wednesday was affected in the northwest of violent storms and large amounts of rain, the whole Iberian Peninsula. Here 88,000 households were temporarily without power. In northwestern Spain, in Covas, a train derailed after he crashed into a fallen tree. In Muxia the pilgrim Church Santuario da Virxe da Barca destroyed by lightning.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, because of the Föhnsturms were ( over 200 km / h in the summit area) blocked numerous mountain railways. After the heavy snowfall the traffic was stopped due to avalanche danger on several rail lines.
Italy
In Italy, there came by heavy rain in the north and snowfalls in the Alps to severe disabilities in the rail, road and air traffic. In Piedmont and in Cortina d' Ampezzo were 10.000ende people without electricity. In Genoa had to be made because of mudslides smaller evacuations. In Turin there was an avalanche deaths.
Austria
In Austria, there was spread to Verkehrsbehiunderungen. In the northeast, in Lower Austria, there were numerous fire-fighting operations due to storm, especially of fallen trees. On the northern edge of the Alps, there is at the same time Föhnstrum ( Rudolfshutte 150 km / h, record temperatures in Salzburg), with several covered houses. In parallel, there was in the south to enormous amounts of new snow in East Tyrol and Carinthia few thousand homes were without electricity.
Poland
In Poland, the storm reached in the south to nearly 180 km / h There were storm caused several dozen injured.
Denmark
In Denmark it was due to poor visibility to numerous traffic accidents, with around 50 injured.