Storm Erwin: societal and energy impacts in northern Europe on 7–9 January 2005

Abstract. On 7–9 January 2005 Storm Erwin (known as Storm Gudrun in the Nordic countries) passed across northern Europe causing damage and interrupting power and transportation networks from Ireland to the eastern Baltic region. In northern England the storm was associated with severe river flooding around Carlisle that cut transportation links into the city and necessitated evacuations. In Scandinavia strong winds were reported, resulting in large scale forest damage and power outages. In Denmark, wind energy was impacted as wind speeds crossed the 25 m s−1 cut-off threshold for turbine operations, leading to a mass shut down of wind turbines and requiring electricity to be imported to make up the shortfall. In Sweden, there were widespread power outages as transmissions lines were blown down in the winds, and coastal nuclear power plants were shut down when sea spray caused short-circuiting problems in electricity transmission. The storm was associated with a notable coastal surge and flooding, particularly in Denmark and the eastern Baltic. The present contribution gives an overview of how the storm affected infrastructure as well as other societal impacts. During Storm Britta in 2006 there was important wave strike damage to offshore energy infrastructure across the North Sea, motivating a review of other North Sea severe storms for comparable impacts. A detailed analysis of tide gauge and wave data is conducted to understand the surge and possible meteotsunamis and rogue waves during Storm Erwin. While the storm caused severe wind-related damage onshore, shipping and offshore energy production were less affected compared with other storms of the past 40 years.