2022 European windstorm
From 14 to 19 February 2022, a European windstorm struck the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. The storm was named Storm Dudley by the UK Met Office on 14 February 2022. The storm caused 225,000 people to lose power, killed nine people, and spawned 24 tornadoes across Europe. The storm occurred just before the stronger and more impactful Storm Eunice, which caused over 3.1 million power outages, 17 fatalities, and over €1.83 billion in damage.
Meteorological history.
Storm Dudley, along with Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin, formed by a sting jet, a narrow band of winds that can create narrow and intense winds in a small area. It was also partly due to a large polar vortex in the Arctic that formed these storms. The storm trio isn't particularly rare for the area, as it has happened before. The storm also brought a very rare formation of mammatus clouds, and brought wind gusts of in Capel Cruig, Wales, in Yorkshire and in Drumalbin, Scotland.
Preparations and impacts.
United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom saw one fatality due to Storm Dudley. Dudley was expected to bring winds of , which caused travel restrictions. The Environment Agency issued 38 flood alerts for the UK. In Yorkshire, a falling power line electrocuted 13 dogs. During the cleanup of Storm Dudley, Storm Eunice struck, further compounding the damage. PwC estimated the insurance losses for the storm to be between £40 million and £75 million.
Germany.
Storm Dudley causes three deaths in Germany, and spawned winds up to in the country. The Elbe River flowed higher than normal, and a ferry had its windows shattered. The storm also spawned one tornado in Germany, in Brandenburg, which was rated as an F1/T3 tornado.
Poland.
The storm produced a very intense squall line of severe thunderstorms that moved through Poland, producing damaging straight-line winds and numerous embedded tornadoes. A man in Western Poland near Gorzów Wielkopolski died when a tree fell on his car. Meanwhile, a tornado in Kraków caused a long crane to collapse, killing two people and injuring two others. Another tornado in Sierosław injured one, and an F2 tornado in Wójcice injured two. Overall, 23 tornadoes were confirmed in Poland.
Lithuania.
Storm Dudley killed two people in Lithuania due to strong winds.
References.
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