Extratropical storms of the end of december 1999 in France

[remy]

Extratropical storms of the end of december 1999 in France

Extratropical storm of Sunday December 26, 1999 (Lothar)

Winds of an exceptional violence accompanied the very deep depression (960 hPa at 7 a.m. 00 around Rouen) which crossed right through and very quickly the north of the country Sunday December 26, 1999, in the morning. The trajectory of this depression follows of west in is an approximate line along the 49e parallel. This depression which touches local Finistere on December 26 towards 2 a.m. reaches Strasbourg around 11 a.m.; it thus moved to approximately 100 km/h. The zone of winds more the violent ones swept a band of a dispatcher of 150 km approximately in the vicinity immediate of the depression, all along this trajectory, side southern, on an axis “Points of Brittany - south of Normandy - Island-of-France - the Champagne-Ardennes - Lorraine - Alsace” then Germany. In addition to the winds exceptionally extremely measured inside the grounds, this hurricane is exceptional by the digging of the depression which was accentuated on ground, because probably of a strong interaction with the currents jets of altitude which were close to 400 km/h to 9000 m of altitude.





Extratropical storm of the night of Monday 27 Tuesday December 28, 1999 (Martin)

This second depression (very deep), also moving at a speed close to 100 km/h, crossed the country of Monday December 27 afternoon at the night of the 27 - December 28. It grew hollow in morning of broad Monday 27 of Brittany, reached in its center 965 hPa while returning on the southern point of Brittany towards 4 p.m. local. The trajectory followed a line: Nantes towards 7 p.m. local, then Romorantin towards 10 p.m. local, Dijon towards 1 H of the morning on Tuesday 28 Alsace towards 4 H of the morning. The depression was then evacuated towards the east. Winds exceptionally violent one accompanied this depression, with maximum forces on its western and southern part. The most touched areas were initially the south of Brittany and the Atlantiques coasts in the afternoon, then all the zones located at the south of a La Rochelle line - Mâcon, including the Mediterranean coast, in particular of the department of Var, and Corsica where the wind continued to blow in storm the morning of Tuesday 28. On Corsica, very strong waves touch the Western face. In the north of the depression, in the cold current directed in North and as of the afternoon of the 27, of the falls of snow holding on the ground, occurred on the north of Brittany and Normandy. In the night power, scattered and fugacious falls of snow touched the west and the south of the Paris area but they was more important on the North-East of the country, the Lorrain plate, the Vosges and until plain on the Genevese. On the north of the Alps, one envisages risks of avalanche. For the day of the 28, the lull is confirmed by the west with maintenance of an unstable time with many downpours, without particular gravity.



Extratropical storm of Sunday December 26, 1999

Ploumanach : 148 km/h
Lann Bihoué : 162 km/h
Rennes : 126 km/h
Nantes : 126 km/h
Alençon : 166 km/h
Rouen : 140 km/h
Chartres : 144 km/h
Paris/Montsouris : 169 km/h
Orly : 173 km/h
Troyes : 148 km/h
Dijon : 126 km/h
Metz : 155 km/h
Nancy : 144 km/h
Colmar : 165 km/h
Strasbourg : 144 km/h



Extratropical storm of the night of Monday 27 Tuesday December 28, 1999

Pointe-du-Raz : 162 km/h
Ile d’Yeu : 162 km/h
Ile d’Oléron : 198 km/h (à confirmer)
La Rochelle : 151 km/h
Biscarosse : 166 km/h
Cap Ferret : 173 km/h
Bordeaux : 144 km/h Pau,
Tarbes : 137 km/h
Limoges : 148 km/h
Aurillac : 137 km/h
Perpignan : 140 km/h
Clermont-Ferrand : 159 km/h
Mâcon : 126 km/h



Satellite view of hurricane

[P.K.]

Just to clarify for others these cases had hurricane force winds (Ten minute averages here) but were not tropical.

[Janie2006]

Which leads me to one of my pet research interests: cold-core winter systems which have some of the same characteristics as warm-core tropical cyclones. 960 hPa would certainly compare with a moderate hurricane, and I'm also interested in the eye-like structures which form in some polar lows. Fascinating stuff.

That being said, I'm quite certain there was extensive damage reported in France and Germany.

[remy]

lothar storm cause incridible damage in france and germany and many peaople die during this desaster. The maximum wind gust of lothar extratropical hurricane was 260 km/h in germany. however Martin has to cause damage similar but in the south of France in particular in my area. There are also another storms which touched my area (Pyrenees Midday) the 1 and 2 december 1976. This time this extratropical hurricane is not arrive of the west but of north and is descended towards the south. In my town at Toulouse-Blagnac the 2 december 1976 we register a severe wind gust at 133 km/h.

charts of analyses 2 december 1976








But i have many documents of extratropical hurricane in europe. During my research i found 2 "SuperStorm" in europe with centrale extreme low pressure at 940 Hpa !! It's the equivalent of a hurricane of category 4 This superstorm's appeared the 1 january 1949 and the 27 january 1884. I found their analyzes charts.

[TheEuropean]

Hi Remy,

thx for this interesting study. But please change the titel, both systems were strong extratropical storms, no hurricanes.

The European