Abstract
A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic storm that moves across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe in the winter months. These storms usually move over the north coast of the United Kingdom, towards Norway but can veer south to affect other countries including Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Poland. As these storms can generate hurricane-force winds (and sometimes even winds at the strength of major hurricanes), they are sometimes referred to as hurricanes, even though few originate as tropical cyclones.
These storms rank as the second highest cause of global natural catastrophe insurance loss (after U.S. hurricanes).
Kyrill was unusual in that its field of hurricane-force winds was very broad, affecting large areas of Germany as well as neighbouring countries at one time. Kyrill brought wind gusts of up to 130 km/h (80 mph) even in the North German plains. German weather experts have described the storm as a "once in a decade" event.
Read more about this topic: Kyrill (storm)
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