2020–21 European windstorm season
The 2020–2021 European windstorm season was the sixth instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. It was the second season in which the Netherlands participated, joining Ireland's and the United Kingdom's meteorological agencies. The season consisted of the year from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021. The Portuguese, Spanish, and French meteorological agencies collaborated too, joined by the Belgian meteorological agency.
Background and naming
In 2015, the Met Office and Met Éireann 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 United Kingdom and Ireland, with the Netherlands taking part from 2019 onwards. Names in the United Kingdom will be based on the National Severe Weather Warning Service when a storm is assessed to have the potential for an Amber or Red warning.There are two main naming lists: one created by the national meteorological agencies of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and another created by the equivalent agencies from France, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium. Additionally, former Atlantic hurricanes will retain their names as assigned by the National Hurricane Center of the United States.
Some of the storms may be of tropical origins. For example, ex-Hurricane Lorenzo of 2019 made landfall in Ireland and the United Kingdom. All details on tropical storms and hurricanes can be found on the National Hurricane Centre.
Western group (United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands)
The following names were selected for the 2020–2021 season.South western group (France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium)
The 2020-2021 European windstorm season was the fourth year in which the meteorological agencies of France, Spain and Portugal were naming storms that affected their areas. The naming scheme partially overlaps that used by the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands, as storms named by the other group of agencies are used reciprocally.Season summary
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# storms here, group by 6 before break
from:30/09/2020 till:03/10/2020 color:5 text:"Alex"
from:20/10/2020 till:22/10/2020 color:5 text:"Barbara"
from:30/10/2020 till:02/11/2020 color:4 text:"Aiden"
from:27/11/2020 till:02/12/2020 color:5 text:"Clement"
from:02/12/2020 till:05/12/2020 color:5 text:"Dora"
from:05/12/2020 till:12/12/2020 color:5 text:"Ernest"
from:25/12/2020 till:31/12/2020 color:4 text:"Bella"
from:05/01/2021 till:11/01/2021 color:5 text:"Filomena"
from:18/01/2021 till:26/01/2021 color:4 text:"Christoph"
from:19/01/2021 till:20/01/2021 color:5 text:"Gaetan"
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from:20/01/2021 till:25/01/2021 color:5 text:"Hortense"
from:22/01/2021 till:26/01/2021 color:5 text:"Ignacio"
from:26/01/2021 till:30/01/2021 color:5 text:"Justine"
from:05/02/2021 till:07/02/2021 color:4 text:"Darcy"
from:19/02/2021 till:22/02/2021 color:5 text:"Karim"
from:19/04/2021 till:25/04/2021 color:5 text:"Lola"
from:29/07/2021 till:31/07/2021 color:4 text: "Evert"
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from:01/09/2020 till:30/09/2020 text:September
from:01/10/2020 till:31/10/2020 text:October
from:01/11/2020 till:30/11/2020 text:November
from:01/12/2020 till:31/12/2020 text:December
from:01/01/2021 till:31/01/2021 text:January
from:01/02/2021 till:28/02/2021 text:February
from:01/03/2021 till:31/03/2021 text:March
from:01/04/2021 till:30/04/2021 text:April
from:01/05/2021 till:31/05/2021 text:May
from:01/06/2021 till:30/06/2021 text:June
from:01/07/2021 till:31/07/2021 text:July
from:01/08/2021 till:31/08/2021 text:August
Storms
Storm Alex
Storm Alex, named by AEMET and Météo-France on 30 September, formed near Brittany on 1 October after undergoing explosive cyclogenesis. Because of this storm, one department in France, the Morbihan, was upgraded to the red alert for strong winds at 4:00 pm Central Time.Alex caused much damage in the department of the Morbihan. Trees were blown down and roads and railways were closed due to flooding and the trees which were downed by the strong winds. Around 100,000 power outages were reported in Brittany. Météo-France observed local strong winds over land.
The storm led to advection of Mediterranean air northwards where it interacted with the coastal topography producing a heavy rainfall in southeast France, known as a "Mediterranean Episode". The department of the Alpes-Maritimes was issued with a red alert for high amounts of rain and flooding. Météo-France reported a maximum of in 24 hours in Mons. More generally, were reported in the department of the Alpes-Maritimes. Météo-France also reported in departments of the Drôme, Ardèche, Rhône, Ain, Saône-et-Loire, Jura and Côte-d'Or. in 24 hours in La Rochepot, Côte-d'Or, set a new a record for Burgundy in October. At least 6 people were reported dead; 1 in Brest and 5 in the Alpes-Maritimes with 7 missing in total and for a dozen others families and authorities don't have any news. In Italy, 2 deaths were reported with 1 person missing. Strong gusts caused one death in each of Austria, Poland and Czech Republic.
Many yellow and amber weather warnings were issued in the United Kingdom for strong winds and heavy rain. As of 21:00 BST, the Met Office reported the maximum rainfall total to be at Liss, Hampshire, with the maximum gust of being recorded at Berry Head, Devon. Many of the fatalities were caused by the ensuing landslides.
On 5 October 2020, the death toll of the floods affecting France and Italy rose to 7 as three bodies were found in Nice, bringing the death toll in France to four, meanwhile there were three dead people in Italy. The region of Piedmont witnessed levels of rain not recorded since 1958, in which it reached a record of rain in Sambughetto in just 24 hours. By 6 October, the death toll reached 12 with a further 20 still missing, as there were another five dead people in Italy, including a worker who was found in the Italian region of Liguria, having gone missing during the beginning of the floods. Moreover, cemeteries in Saint-Martin-Vésubie and Tende were partially washed out by the floods, in addition to seven Canadian black wolves which were lost from a wildlife park in Nice. Monaco's Minister of State Pierre Dartout announced that €4m would be distributed to the affected regions including French communities in Alpes-Maritimes and Italian municipality of Ventimiglia. Another 3 people were found dead, and another person went missing, bringing the number of missing people to 21, and the death toll to 15 individuals as of 7 October. By 3 October, one more individual had gone missing, but the other 21 missing people were found safe and rescued, bringing the number of missing persons to 1 individual. In addition, an Italian firefighter was killed by a falling branch.
Storm Barbara
Barbara developed from a wave on a front trailing from a complex of low-pressure southwest of Portugal on 19 October. It moved northwest over the Iberian peninsula into the Bay of Biscay, moving into the English Channel and over the North Sea, then into Scandinavia, bringing heavy rain and, in some places, their first snow of the season.Strong gusts and some damages was reported by the Meteo-France in association with the storm over parts of Spain, Portugal and France. Over 76,000 households in the latter's southwestern region lost power alone, while also causing significant damage to the electricity department. Numerous trees and power poles were also downed due to strong winds. It also killed an individual in Digoin, Burgundy when a tree collapsed on him in his garden. Total damages from the storm were estimated at greater than $50 million.
Storm Aiden
Storm Aiden was named by Met Éireann senior executive Aidan McLaughlin on 30 October 2020.On 30 October, Met Éireann issued a Status Orange wind warning for counties Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow, valid between 31 October 2020 05:00 and 31 October 2020 10:00. An additional Status Orange wind warning was issued for counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare, valid between 31 October 2020 08:00 and 31 October 2020 16:00. In both warnings, mean wind speeds of were expected, with severe and damaging gusts of up to also expected. A Status Yellow wind warning was issued for all remaining counties, valid between 31 October 2020 01:00 and 31 October 2020 15:00.
Over 8,000 homes and businesses were left without power as the storm battered the country with severe gusts of up to at Malin Head, Ireland, which led to fallen trees and flooding. The highest gust in the UK was at Altnaharra, Sutherland.