2018–19 European windstorm season
The 2018–2019 European windstorm season was the fourth instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. Most storms form between September and March. The first named storm, Ali, affected primarily the United Kingdom and Ireland on 19 September 2018.
Background and naming
In 2015, the British and Irish national meteorological agencies, Met Office and Met Éireann respectively, announced a pilot project to name storm warnings as part of the Name our Storms project for wind storms and asked the public for suggestions. The meteorological offices produced a full list of names for 2015–2016 through to 2017–2018, common to both the UK and Ireland. A new list of names was released on 11 September 2018 for the 2018–2019 season. Names in the UK were based on the National Severe Weather Warning Service, when a storm is assessed to have the potential for an Amber 'be prepared' or Red 'take action ' warning.There are two main naming lists, created by the national meteorological agencies of the UK and Ireland, and France, Spain and Portugal respectively. Additionally, former Atlantic hurricanes will retain their names as assigned by the National Hurricane Center of the United States.
United Kingdom and Ireland
France, Spain and Portugal
This is the second season in which the meteorological agencies of France, Spain and Portugal will be naming storms which affect their areas. This naming scheme is partially overlapping with that used by the UK and Ireland, as storms named by the other group of agencies will be used reciprocally.Other naming systems
Two former Atlantic hurricanes transitioned into European windstorms during the season, and retained their names as assigned by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida:Additionally to these naming systems, the Free University of Berlin also names high and low pressure areas through its "Adopt a vortex" programme. The Nordic nations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden also name storms with more limited reciprocation. Other nations may also name storms either through their national meteorological institutions or popularly.
Season summary
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The season began on 16 September 2018 with the naming of Storm Helene, a former Atlantic hurricane. However, as it weakened considerably while approaching the British Isles, all warnings for Helene were discontinued on 18 September. Later that day, the second storm of the season, Storm Ali, was named by the Met Office and Met Éireann with the issuance of amber wind warnings for the following day. The third storm of the season, Bronagh, was named on 20 September; the earliest third named storm in a season since naming began.
Storms
The season was prefaced by the extratropical remnants of Hurricane Helene which affected the UK and Ireland on 17–18 September. This began an active period of storm formation under a fast moving jet stream over the Atlantic.Ex-Hurricane Helene
While still a tropical cyclone, Hurricane Helene affected the Azores from 15 to 16 September 2018. The system subsequently completed an extratropical transition on 16 September as it accelerated north-eastwards towards the British Isles, with the outer bands of Storm Helene causing minimal impacts in north-western Spain and Portugal.Storm Helene crossed the UK and Ireland on 17–18 September, with the Met Office and Met Éireann issuing yellow wind warnings. The Met Office's yellow warning of wind covered southern England, the Midlands and Wales overnight from 17 to 18 September, with forecasts predicting winds of up to.
Helene was downgraded as it approached the British Isles, with winds gusting to only in isolated locations; as a result, all warnings were cancelled on 18 September as Helene was still crossing the UK. Subsequently, Helene emerged into the Norwegian Sea and stalled off the coast of Norway as a weakened system, finally being absorbed by Storm Bronagh approaching from the south-west on 21 September.
Storm Ali
Storm Ali was named on 18 September by Met Éireann and Met Office, who both issued Amber weather warnings for wind associated with Ali. The centre of circulation of Ali made landfall in south-western Ireland in the early hours of 19 September, crossing into Northern Ireland before re-emerging into the Atlantic and then making a second landfall close to Ullapool in north-western Scotland at around 14:00 local time. The highest wind gust recorded in the Republic of Ireland was at Mace Head weather station in County Galway. The highest gust record in the United Kingdom was recorded on the Tay Road Bridge in Scotland. The winds on this storm were equivalent to a Category 2 on the Saffir–Simpson scale.Storm Ali killed two people in Ireland and the UK. A caravan was blown over a cliff onto a beach near the village of Claddaghduff in County Galway, killing a woman who was visiting from Switzerland. In County Armagh, a man in his 20s was killed by a falling tree. Falling trees also severely injured a woman in Cheshire. There was also severe tree damage in the Galway City and County region, which led to numerous school and road closures. Electricity supplies were lost to more than 100,000 homes across Northern Ireland, with more than 25,000 remaining without power into the following morning; the worst affected areas for power outages were Omagh, Dungannon and Enniskillen. Across the border in the Republic of Ireland, more than 186,000 properties lost electricity during Ali, of which 119,000 had power restored by the end of the day.
In County Antrim, the M1 motorway was closed in both directions for several hours after power cables fell across the carriageways. Enterprise trains between Belfast and Dublin were delayed for up to seven hours due to debris on the tracks. Services between Belfast and Derry were suspended, and a blanket speed restriction of was enforced on all NI Railways services pending track inspections, causing widespread delays. There were also delays to flights at Belfast International Airport. In Greenock in Scotland, the MS Nautica cruise ship broke free from her moorings and drifted for several hours before being rescued by tugboats.
A major incident was declared by police in Dumfries and Galloway after many people were injured by flying debris; schools were placed on lockdown for the safety of students, as Ali's highest winds in this area occurred around the end of the school day. On the Highland Main Line, a freight train was derailed after striking fallen tree branches. In Cumbria, fallen trees and power lines caused disruption to transport and left homes without power; overturned lorries caused the M6 motorway to close for several hours, and Virgin Trains services along the West Coast Main Line were delayed or cancelled between Preston and Glasgow Central. Dozens of trees fell or were damaged across the city of Sheffield, where council housing stock suffered considerable damage, including one housing block which had its roof ripped off in the Gleadless Valley area of the city.
After clearing the UK, Ali made landfall in Norway, where several thousand homes were left without power in the west of the country. Ali subsequently tracked over northern Scandinavia and into Siberia, exiting the basin on 22 September.