The 2023–2024 European windstorm season was the ninth season of the European windstorm naming in Europe. It comprised a year, from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. This was the fifth season in which the Netherlands participated (through KNMI), alongside the United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann in the western group. The Portuguese, Spanish, French and Belgian meteorological agencies collaborated for the seventh time, joined by Luxembourg's agency (Southwestern group). This was the third season in which Greece, Israel and Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean group), and Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta (Central Mediterranean group) named storms which affected their areas.
Storms
Storm Agnes (Kilian)
Storm Agnes was named by the UK's Met Office on 25 September 2023 and was forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to much of the UK and Ireland. The storm, which was also named Kilian by the Free University of Berlin and the Deutscher Wetterdienst, impacted the British Isles on 27 September.
Storm Babet (Viktor)
Storm Babet, which was named by the United Kingdom's Met Office on 16 October, and named Viktor by the Free University of Berlin, affected large parts of western and northern Europe. It first affected Portugal and southwestern Spain with strong winds, heavy rains and floods on 16–17 October, subsequently moving to northern Europe. The Met Office issued several yellow rain and wind warnings for large parts of the UK, along with amber rain warnings for parts of northeastern England and Scotland. A rare red weather warning was issued for eastern parts of Scotland.
Met Éireann issued Yellow rain warnings for most of Ireland. An orange rain warning for southwestern Ireland was also issued, and there was flooding in the south of the Island, especially the east of County Cork; Midleton was particularly badly hit.
A rare red warning for rainfall was issued across portions of eastern Scotland by the Met Office on 19 October. A wind gust of 124 km/h (77 mph) was registered at the coast in Inverbervie. In the highlands, Cairn Gorm summit recorded a gust of 185 km/h (115 mph). In Brechin, Scotland, residents were asked to evacuate their homes by the local council.
In Denmark, southern Sweden and northern Germany, the wind caused some material damages, fallen trees and cancellations of ferries, trains and planes, but the most serious effect was a storm surge, with large amounts of seawater being pushed by the wind into the westernmost Baltic Sea and Danish Straits (unlike floods in Great Britain, Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula that primarily were caused by heavy rain). In parts of Denmark (southeastern Jutland, southern Funen, southern Zealand and smaller islands in the area) and Germany (eastern Schleswig-Holstein), it caused the highest floods in more than a century, with some places in Denmark having sea levels that were up to 2.39 m (7 ft 10 in) above normal and in the Germany up to 2.22 m (7 ft 3 in) above normal. In certain, particularly exposed places, people were evacuated after levees broke and houses were flooded. On the opposite, western side of Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein, the waters were forced away from the shore by the wind, with sea levels up to 3 m (9.8 ft) below normal, stranding boats and preventing several ferries from running because of insufficient water depths. This flooding was unusual because it was caused by easterly winds and mainly impacted the westernmost Baltic Sea. In Denmark and Germany, large storm floods are most often caused by westerly stoms where the greatest impact is on the southeastern North Sea, which has coastlines that are far better protected by taller, more extensive levees and other systems.
There were at least six recorded fatalities: a 57-year-old woman died after being swept into a river in Angus (Scotland), a 56-year-old man died after his van hit a tree near Forfar in Angus, a man in his 60s was killed after being swept away by flood waters near Cleobury Mortimer (England), a 33-year-old woman was killed on the German island of Fehmarn when her car was hit by a falling tree, and a woman in her 80s in Chesterfield died in floods. A man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater near the Aberdeenshire village of Marykirk was later found dead.
Damage in Schleswig-Holstein was estimated to be 200 million Euro.
Storm Aline (Wolfgang)
Storm Aline was named by Spain's state weather forecast agency AEMET, while Wolfgang was the name given by the Free University of Berlin both on 18 October 2023. The storm caused heavy rainfall across several parts of Spain and France. More than 20 flights were diverted from Málaga Airport and a gust of 100 km/h (60 mph) was reported in Cabrera.
Storm Bernard (Xanthos)
Storm Bernard was named by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) on 22 October 2023, but the Free University of Berlin noticed and named this system Xanthos on 21 October 2023 instead.
The system impacted Spain and Portugal, prompting the issuance of yellow rain warnings.
Storm Celine (Benj)
Storm Celine was named and reported on 28 October 2023 by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), at around 1 pm local time that same afternoon. The cold front moved south, causing heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms. IPMA also predicted wind gusts as high as 90 km/h (55 mph) in the highlands and waves up to 6 m in height.
The storm passed through central Portugal on 29 October. By 30 October, it had swept through southern Portugal and prompted yellow weather warnings for heavy rain in nine provinces in five autonomous communities in Spain. Weather warning were issued in western France until 31 October.
One death was reported: a 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in France on 29 October.
Storm Ciarán (Emir)
Storm Ciarán was named by the United Kingdom's Met Office on 29 October, while the Free University of Berlin gave this system Emir on 30 October 2023. It was expected to bring winds of 90 to 120 km/h (56 to 75 mph) widely with > 130 km/h (80 mph) on some coasts. More heavy rainfall was expected to fall which would exacerbate the flooding from Storm Babet a week prior. A large yellow weather warning for rain and wind was placed for the South Wales, Devon and Cornwall, south coast and the east coast of East Anglia. In Cornwall, 4,000 properties were left without power. In Devon, 250 schools were closed. In Dorset, the Freshwater Beach Holiday Park at Burton Bradstock was destroyed. Other places in Dorset affected included Loders, Easton and West Bay. A caravan park at Tenby in Wales was evacuated due to flooding.
The Met Office stated Storm Ciarán was undergoing explosive cyclogenesis on 1 November. The storm especially affected the Isle of Jersey, where a supercell thunderstorm spawned an IF3/T6 tornado alongside golfball sized hail. Wind speeds on the island reached around over 160 km/h (100 mph). The southern coast of England and France were severely affected by the storm, with record wind gusts in France being reported around 208 km/h (129 mph).
The storm also caused flooding and huge waves. An IF3 tornado also touched down in Bulgaria.
In the Netherlands, an orange weather warning was given for the coastal provinces for high winds. Events were cancelled, including the Dutch Headwind Cycling Championships at the last minute due to safety. There was a lot of disruption due to cancelled flights and trains. People were advised to work from home, and to not drive unless absolutely necessary.
There were 15 fatalities as a result of the storm. A 46-year-old woman died in Germany when a tree fell on her.
There were two deaths in Belgium, a 5-year-old child and a 64-year-old woman from falling branches.
A 23-year-old woman died in Spain from a fallen tree.
In France two deaths were reported, including a 72-year-old man who was blown off his balcony.
And in the Netherlands a person was killed when a tree fell on their car. Six more died in Italy, and one in Albania.
Six people were killed during heavy rains in the region of Tuscany, Italy, with rivers flooding and causing damage. Several roads and highways are closed amid landslides. Severe damage also occurred in Campobasso, Molise, evacuations were being made in Veneto with highways being closed, and emergency calls occurred in Rome. In Sardinia, strong winds fueled fires that burned hectares of vegetation, while a man was killed in Capoterra, and in Tortolì an entire sawmill burned down.
In total there were more than 1 million power outages; in Cornwall around 4,000 properties were left without power. Damage assessed by PERLIS was finalized at €2.067 billion (US$2.22 billion).
Storm Domingos (Fred)
Storm Domingos was named and reported on 3 November 2023 by the Spanish Met Service (AEMET). The storm was subsequently named Fred by the Free University of Berlin on 4 November 2023 at 12:00 UTC. It was expected to bring strong winds to France, Spain and Portugal with wind warnings in force for parts of those countries. The United Kingdom had a yellow rain warning for the south coast, issued by the Met Office.
One death was reported; an employee from Enedis was killed in the French region of Brittany, on 5 November 2023.
Storm Elisa (Helmoe)
Storm Elisa was identified by Météo-France on 9 November 2023, while the Free University of Berlin named this system Helmoe the very next day.
Heavy rain was forecast to fall in northern France between Le Havre and Calais with 80–100 millimetres to fall in the region. This caused rivers to burst their banks, causing some flooding, with 20–50 more widely.
No deaths were recorded from Storm Elisa.
Storm Debi
Storm Debi was identified by Met Éireann on 12 November 2023, while the Free University of Berlin will not be issuing a name for this system as it neither impacted Denmark, Sweden nor Norway. It heavily impacted Ireland on 12 November (Sunday night), before it made its way to the United Kingdom on 13 November (Monday morning).
Met Éireann placed in effect a red wind warning for 14 counties: Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, east Galway, south Roscommon, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Offaly, and Westmeath, and yellow and orange wind and rain warnings for the rest of the country.
The Met Office issued a yellow wind warning for regions of East Midlands, North East England, North West England, Wales, West Midlands (region), Yorkshire, Humber, Midlands, Tayside, Fife and Grampian.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organization issued a tornado watch for much of Ireland, Wales, Midlands and East Anglia on Sunday evening, starting from midnight to midday Monday.
On Monday morning 13 November, the storm reached the Netherlands.
Storm Frederico (Linus)
Storm Frederico was identified by Météo-France on 15 November 2023 around 17:50 CET as a new depression, and the Free University of Berlin announced on 16 November 2023 that this system would be named Linus. Météo-France predicted this system would travel from the Gulf of Saint-Malo towards the north of Germany, on morning of 16 November 2023 would be near the Channel Islands, and by the night, strong gales would reach Provence and Corsica. overnight with significant gusts between 110 km/h and 120 km/h (70 to 75 mph)
The Met Office issued yellow rain warnings in association with the storm system for the south coast of England and Wales, where flooding was possible. It was also reported that Météo-France had placed 55 departments on yellow alert, including Île-de-France.
The system then tracked through southeastern central parts of Europe, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the Balkans and southern Black Sea coasts such as Turkey. Orange and yellow wind and snow warnings were put up for parts of the Balkans, particularly, Romania Serbia and Bulgaria. The system brought heavy rain and some snowfall to western parts of Turkey. The eastern Mediterranean was forecast to also be impacted by Frederico, with yellow flood warnings for parts of Israel and an orange 'coastal event' warning issued. The storm moved out of Europe by 21 November 2023.
Storm Alexis
Though a weak and small system, Storm Alexis was assigned by the Italian Servizio Meteorologico, on 22 November 2023. The storm was assigned for potential flash flooding due to heavy rain with orange warnings.
It was also predicted that Alexis would turn into an anticyclone by 24 November 2023, Friday.