Burns' Day Storm
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Type | extratropical storm surge |
---|---|
Formed | 23 January 1990[1] |
Dissipated | 26 January 1990 |
Highest winds |
|
Highest gust | 124 kn (230 km/h; 143 mph), Brocken[2] |
Lowest pressure | 949 hPa (28.0 inHg)[1] |
Fatalities | 47 UK,[3] 17 Netherlands,[4] 12 France,[5] |
Areas affected | Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, West Germany, East Germany, Denmark |
The Burns' Day Storm (also known as Cyclone Daria) was an extremely violent windstorm that took place on 25–26 January 1990 over
Meteorological history
The storm began as a cold front over the Northern Atlantic Ocean on 23 January. By 24 January, it had a minimum central pressure of 992 millibars (29.3 inHg) and began to undergo explosive cyclogenesis, which was sometimes referred to as a weather bomb.[7] It made landfall on the morning of January 25 over Ireland. It then tracked over to Ayrshire in Scotland. The lowest pressure of 949 mbar (28.0 inHg) was estimated near Edinburgh around 16:00. After hitting the United Kingdom, the storm tracked rapidly east towards Denmark causing major damage and a further 30 deaths in the Netherlands and Belgium.[1]
Winds
The strongest sustained winds recorded were between 70 and 75 mph (113 and 121 km/h), comparable to a weak Category 1 hurricane or Hurricane-force 12 on the
Forecasting
The Burns' Day Storm of 1990 has been given as an example of when the Met Office "got the prediction right".[8] The model forecast hinged on observations from two ships in the Atlantic near the developing storm the day before it reached the UK.[9]
During the day of the storm, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) increased warnings to force 11 and eventually to hurricane force 12. It conducted research that showed that most of the general public could not understand the severity of the warnings. The storm has led to more awareness and understanding of storminess among the public by the KNMI, which started a teletext page and the introduction of special warnings for extreme weather events in reaction to these findings.[10]
Impacts
Casualties were much higher than those of the
Highest wind gust per country
Country | Highest Gust | Location |
---|---|---|
Ireland | 168 km/h | Dunmore Head |
United Kingdom | 172 km/h | Aberporth & Gwennap Head |
France | 164 km/h | Sangatte |
Belgium | 168 km/h | Beauvechain |
Luxembourg | 162 km/h | Wincrange |
Netherlands | 159 km/h | IJmuiden & Westkapelle |
Germany | 230 km/h | Brocken |
Denmark | 166 km/h | Gedser Odde & Nykøbing Falster |
See also
- Vivian (storm) 25–28 February 1990, later Wiebke . This is called the 1990 storm series.
- List of natural disasters in Great Britain and Ireland
- Great Storm of 1987
- European windstorm
References
- ^ .
- ^ https://www.wetterzentrale.de/weatherdata_de.php?station=722&jaar=1990&maand=01&dag=25
- ^ "Burns' Day Storm - 25 January 1990" (PDF). Met Office. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Zwaarste storm sinds 1990". nos.nl (in Dutch). 28 October 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "Daria le 25 janvier 1990 - Tempêtes en France métropolitaine". tempetes.meteo.fr. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "Seasonal predictability of European wind storms" (PDF). Institute of Meteorology. Free University of Berlin. 2008. p. 7. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "Daria le 25 janvier 1990 - Tempêtes en France métropolitaine". tempetes.meteofrance.fr (in French). Météo-France. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ Adams, Tim (21 February 2010). "Met Office forecasts storm warnings over its accuracy". The Observer. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ Heming, J.T. (1990). "The impact of surface and radiosonde observations from two Atlantic ships on a numerical weather prediction model forecast for the storm of 25 January 1990". The Meteorological Magazine. 119: 249–259.
- ^ "Nader Verklaard Zwaarste storm in decennia". KMNI. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ Verasamy, Lucy. "Remembering the Burns Day storm of 1990". www.itv.com. ITV Consumer Limited. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "1990: Children killed in devastating storm". On This Day. BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "UK storm payout 'may hit £350m' the storm was really really big". BBC News. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
High winds that hit the country in the first few weeks of 1990 – costing insurers £3.37bn – remain the most expensive for insurers.