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Storm Ciarán, known in Germany as Storm Emir was a
European windstorm European windstorms are powerful extratropical cyclones which form as cyclone, 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 ...
that severely affected parts of Europe from late October to early November 2023. Part of the
2023–24 European windstorm season 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 where the Netherlands participated (through Royal N ...
, Ciarán impacted northwestern Europe and killed 21 people, eleven of whom were in Italy and four in France. It also caused mass disruption to transport. Widespread damage from winds were reported in the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
, while 1.2 million French households were left without electricity.


Prelude

Storm Ciarán was named by the United Kingdom's
Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...
on 29 October, while the
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
named the system Emir on 30 October. It was expected to bring winds of 90 to 120 km/h (60 to 70 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. The Met Office's long-range forecast stated that Storm Ciarán would move away on 3 November, with many places still with blistering winds and rain spells. The
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
were due to be hit with gusts around with schools closed and a red weather warning in place. On 1 November, this was updated to a Force 11 violent storm, with the Met Office stating that Storm Ciarán was undergoing explosive cyclogenesis. The storm would impact the Netherlands on 2 November. The storm especially affected the Isle of
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
, where a strong thunderstorm formed a tornado alongside the golf ball sized
hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...
with windspeeds of the storm reaching over .


The event

A large yellow weather warning for rain and wind in place for the
South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
, Devon and
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, south coast and the east coast of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
. In Cornwall, 4,000 properties were left without power. In Devon, 250 schools were closed. In
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, 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 Tenby () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...
in Wales was evacuated due to flooding. Moyles Court School in the
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
was closed due to flooding. The southern coast of England and France were severely affected by the storm, with record wind gusts in France being reported around . The storm also caused flooding and huge waves. In the Netherlands, an orange weather warning was given for the coastal provinces for high winds. Events were cancelled, including at the last-minute the Dutch Headwind Cycling Championships. There was disruption due to cancelled flights and trains. People were advised to work at home, and to not drive unnecessarily. The Dutch Railways adjusted the timetable with fewer trains. Twenty-one people were killed during the storm, including: a 46-year-old woman who died in Germany when a tree fell on her. A 5-year-old child and a 64-year-old woman were killed by falling trees in Belgium. A 23-year-old woman died in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain. In
Venray Venray or Venraij (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the Netherlands. The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as of July 2016 ...
, the Netherlands, a person was killed when a tree fell on their car. On 3 November, a man was killed inside his vehicle in Albania. In France, a truck driver was killed by a falling tree, a 72-year-old man was blown off his balcony, a 43-year-old died after being swept away by a wave, while a 46-year-old technician was killed on 4 November while trying to restore electricity to homes. Eight people were killed during heavy rains in the region of
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, Italy, with rivers flooding and causing damage. Several roads and highways were closed amid
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
s. Floods also occurred in the region of
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
, with a 40-year-old man being killed after falling from the Corno d'Acquilio mountain, while a 44-year-old man was killed in
Belluno Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...
. Severe damage also occurred in
Campobasso Campobasso (, ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sannio and Matese mountains. Campobas ...
and other areas of
Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...
, as well as in
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
and the
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
area; emergency measures were also taken in
Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
. In
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, strong winds fueled fires that burned hectares of vegetation, while a man was killed in Capoterra while battling fires, and an entire
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
burned down in
Tortolì Tortolì (; or ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia, in the Province of Nuoro. Geography Tortolì is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Its port and greatest hamlet is Arbatax, which has also an airport that once connected it to con ...
. The
Jersey Zoo Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. It is operated by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. In 2023, th ...
announced that one of their
Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at a height of closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was previously considered a subspecies before being classified ...
s had been killed by the storm, but all the other animals had been accounted for. They further stated that the zoo would be closed until 6 November 2023, so any remaining debris could be cleared. In total, there were more than 1 million people without power, and in Cornwall around 4,000 properties were left without power. Damage assessed by PERLIS was finalized at
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
2.067 billion (US$2.22 billion), while the dmage in France alone reached €1.772 billion (US$1.9 billion).


Highest wind gust per country


Tornado outbreak

Storm Ciarán spawned 9 tornadoes across Europe.


Aftermath

A day after the storm there were still problems in the Netherlands. Several
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...
s and gardens were flooded, including an apartment complex in
Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...
that has been evacuated due to flooding. The storm caused damage of more than €15 million in the Netherlands.


See also

* Great Storm of 1987 * Braer Storm (1993) – the most intense European windstorm ever recorded; also underwent explosive cyclogenesis * Cyclone Carmen (2010) *
Storm Dennis Storm Dennis was a European windstorm which, in February 2020, became one of the most intense extratropical cyclones ever recorded, reaching a minimum central pressure of . The thirteenth named storm of the 2019–20 European windstorm season, ...
(2020)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciarán, Storm November 2023 in the United Kingdom November 2023 in France November 2023 in Europe 2023 in the Netherlands 2023 in Germany October 2023 in Spain 2023 in the Czech Republic 2023 disasters in the United Kingdom 2023 disasters in Belgium 2023 disasters in France 2023 disasters in Germany 2023 disasters in Italy 2023 disasters in the Netherlands 2023 disasters in Spain European windstorms November 2023 in Spain