Cyclone Berit (also named Cyclone Xaver by the

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) was a very strong

European windstorm European windstorms are powerful extratropical cyclones which form as cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure. They can occur throughout the year, but are most frequent between October and March, with peak intensit ...

that formed as a tropical wave near the

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in mid-November 2011. The storm began producing heavy rain and snow over Northern Europe on 24 and 25 November.

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saw its first snowfall since March, earlier in the year. The Faroe Islands also reported winds up to and excessive damage. On 25 November, the Norwegian Weather Service named the storm 'Berit'. Another storm, called ''Yoda'', hit Scotland just a day after Xaver. The storm ''Yoda'' was widely known as Lille-Berit (Little-Berit) in Scandinavia, as the Norwegian Weather Service did not issue it with an official name.

Meteorological history

A low pressure area formed south of the

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on 21 November, and by the next day, was named Xaver by the

. On 23 November, the storm passed north-east of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and to the south of the

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with a strong central pressure of 980 millibars. Xaver rapidly strengthened during the early hours of 24 November, and had also developed an

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. During the late hours of 25 November, Xaver began weakening as it approached the coast of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It continued to move towards the east-northeast for the next few days, and dissipated over

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on 29 November.

Impact

Cyclone Xaver (Berit) Massive damages were experienced on the

as they were hit by windspeeds of . Police on the islands imposed a curfew. Boats and debris were blown about, with some concern that oil might have leaked from a boat dashed against the rocks. Residents of a nursing home in

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were evacuated mid-storm as the roof was blown off. The storm brought heavy snow over the mountains and large waves to the coastline of

. The UK

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issued severe weather warnings for strong winds and heavy rain for the end of November. One woman died after her car got swept into a loch in Harris on 25 November. Twelve Caledonian MacBrayne ferries were cancelled from the Western Isles. Staff members had to move below on Ben Nevis as gale-force winds forced the

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s to close. Schools were closed on 25 November due to high winds. The

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Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

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, Erskine, Friarton and the

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had speed restrictions on 25 November. A class II warning for

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was issued by SMHI, which means there is a danger to the public. On 26 November,

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was forced to close three platforms due to high waves. Waves were expected to reach along the Norwegian coastline. In Stapnes, Norway 3 members of the

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film crew were swept out to sea as they filmed the crashing waves. One managed to get back to shore, however the others did not. In

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a man was also killed after being hit by a falling tree. A landslide was also initiated close to

Myrdal Myrdal is an area in Aurland, Norway. Its only built-out facilities is Myrdal Station on the Bergen Line and the Flåm Line The Flåm Line ( no, Flåmsbana) is a long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland Municipality, in Vestla ...

, which resulted in disruption to the Oslo-Bergen train service. There was also severe disruption to ferry services between the Scandinavian countries with thousands of passengers stranded. In

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the

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issued warnings of a storm surge to affect the East Coast on 27 November. Whitby town centre was flooded with reports of flooding around the Tyne,

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and

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

coast. The highest tide in 14 years of measurement was recorded in Hull, where the Hull tidal barrier was lowered to protect the city. The

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

colony at

Donna Nook Donna Nook is a point on the low-lying coast of north Lincolnshire, England, north of the village of North Somercotes and south of Grimsby. The area, a salt marsh, is used by a number of Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire for bombing pract ...

in Lincolnshire was inundated during pupping season. In Estonia of birch timber were swept off the Lithuanian ship ''MS Alfalina'' west of Saaremaa. Eesti Energia estimated that 6500 customers were without electricity countrywide in the wake of the storm, with even the Christmas tree in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

being toppled by the strong wind.

References

External links

* Flooding in Whitby November 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-6H_zGhv50&feature=player_embedded * Flooding in Whitby November 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ri_OTwjxdQ&feature=player_embedded * Facebook Wall showing damage caused by Berit in the Faroe Islands https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ódnin-Berit/293476274019374?sk=wall {{European windstorms Berit 2011 meteorology 2011 disasters in the United Kingdom 2011 in the Faroe Islands 2011 in Norway 2011 in Sweden 2011 disasters in Russia Berit Storm tides of the North Sea Berit November 2011 events in Europe