2013 Nordic storms

The storm formed over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Greenland and west of Newfoundland on 15 November. The storm followed a similar, though more northerly path than Dagmar in 2011. The storm was estimated to be less intense than Dagmar, and the more northerly track would take it over lightly populated regions.

Before the storm the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued class 1- and class 2-warnings across Norrland. Class 2-warning remained active on 17 November in parts of Västerbotten and Norrbotten.{{cite news|last=Makar|first=Maria|title=Tiotusentals strömlösa efter stormen Hilde|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=5706389|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|date=16 November 2013|author2=Angela Wiese|language=Swedish}} The Finnish Meteorological Institute issued a level 2 warning, that significant wind damage could occur in central Finland,{{cite news|title=Find out when "Storm Eino" is due to strike in your area|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/find_out_when_storm_eino_is_due_to_strike_in_your_area/6938097|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=YLE|date=16 November 2013}} and released advice for the public on how to prepare for strong winds and any potential power outages.{{cite news|title=Meteorologists advise caution during storm|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/meteorologists_advise_caution_during_storm/6938360|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=YLE|date=17 November 2013}}

The Norwegian energy company Statoil evacuated 97 people from the drilling platform Njord A as a safety precaution.{{cite news|title=Tåg stoppas under stormen|url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/snostorm-hotar-fjallen_8733458.svd|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet|date=16 November 2013}} Hurtigruten ferry sailings along the Norwegian coast were cancelled in preparation for the storm.{{cite news|title=Uværet stopper Hurtigruten|url=http://www.nrk.no/trondelag/uvaeret-stopper-hurtigruten-1.11361224|accessdate=18 November 2013|newspaper=NRK|date=16 November 2013}} Railway transport was halted overnight (16 November) in northern Sweden.{{cite news|title=Stormen Hilde härjade i Sverige och Norge|url=http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2013/11/17/stormen-hilde-harjade-i-sverige-och-norge|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=YLE|date=17 November 2013}}

File:EUROPE TPW 15112013.png over Europe, 15/11/2013]]

Fronts from low pressure area Nikolaus{{cite news|title=Analysis|url=http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/de/wetter/maps/Analyse_20131113.gif|accessdate=24 November 2013|newspaper=Wetterpate: Free University Berlin|date=13 November 2013}} passed over Norway in the 24 hours before Hilde. These fronts brought close to extreme rainfall in Bergen on 15 November, and heavy rain across Western Norway which left many roads impassable as they were closed by landslides and rockfalls overnight 15–16 November.

Norway's second-largest city, Bergen, saw 60 mm of rain fall in 6 hours, Friday afternoon and evening. The calls generated overwhelmed the capacity of the city's emergency lines and Bergen municipality staff set up an alternate number to cope with incoming calls reporting flooding of homes and roads.{{cite news|last=Moe|first=Tom Arne|title=Veier ble til elver|url=http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.11360252|accessdate=23 November 2013|newspaper=yr.no|date=15 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118184541/http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.11360252|archive-date=2013-11-18|url-status=dead}} The rainfall also closed the city's Fløibanen funicular railway for only the second time in 105 years.{{cite news|last=Berglund|first=Nina|title=Bergen clobbered by torrential rain|url=http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/11/15/bergen-clobbered-by-torrential-rain/|accessdate=23 November 2013|newspaper=News in English.no|date=15 November 2013}}

On the Norwegian national road 15, a bus from Volda to Oslo was caught in a landslide between Hjelle and Oppstryn around midnight. None of the 35 passengers aboard were hurt but the bus was left stuck within the slide.{{cite news|title=Evakueringer, oversvømmelser og jordras på Vestlandet: – Hold dere inne!|url=http://www.nrk.no/norge/evakueringer_-oversvommelser-og-ras-1.11360947|accessdate=23 November 2013|newspaper=NRK|date=16 November 2013|language=Norwegian}}

High winds across Finnmark in the far north of Norway were reported on 16 November, which led to the evacuation of Hammerfest Airport's tower, and grounding of all air traffic.{{cite news|last=Jakobsen|first=Bjørn Egil|title=Har evakuert flytårn etter orkan i kastene|url=http://www.nordlys.no/nyheter/article6986760.ece|accessdate=23 November 2013|newspaper=Nordlys|date=16 November 2013|language=Norwegian}} Wind gusts of {{convert|75|kn|km/h}} were reported on the mountains and {{convert|64|kn|km/h}} at the airport.

File:Wind storm Hilde - 17 Nov 2013 - 1.jpg

The strongest wind gust in Norway was measured at Nordøyan Lighthouse in Vikna Municipality in Nord Trøndelag at {{convert|49|m/s|km/h}}, with an average windspeed reaching {{convert|39|m/s|km/h}}.{{cite news|last=Nilsen|first=Amund|title="Hilde" tok strømmen fra tusenvis og skapte trøbbel til sjøs og på veien|url=http://www.nrk.no/norge/uvaeret-_hilde_-herjet-langs-kysten-1.11362168|accessdate=23 November 2013|newspaper=NRK|date=17 November 2013|language=Norwegian}}

At Sklinna Lighthouse average winds of {{convert|35|m/s|km/h}} were measured with gust speeds of {{convert|44|m/s|km/h}} in Leka Municipality, Nord Trøndelag.{{cite news|last=Pedersen|first=Kamilla|title=Orkan flere steder langs kysten|url=http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.11361839|accessdate=23 November 2013|newspaper=yr.no|date=16 November 2013|author2=Amund Aune Nilsen|language=Norwegian|archive-date=18 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118183715/http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.11361839|url-status=dead}} Locally guts over land reached between {{convert|40|and|50|m/s|km/h}} with waves of 13–15 m at the coast. Across central Norway high wind blew trees down onto powerlines. In Helgeland the E6 road was closed from the southern county border to the Korgfjell Tunnel. In the city of Trondheim police cordoned off areas of the city centre for public safety.

In Sweden the high altitude weather station at Stekenjokk, in Lappland recorded an average windspeed (10 minutes) of {{convert|47|m/s|km/h mph}}, which surpassed the record of {{convert|44|m/s|km/h mph}} recorded in association with Gudrun in 2005 and another storm in 2–3 March 2011 also recorded at Stekenjokk.{{cite news|title=Hilde gav Sverige ett nytt vindrekord|url=http://www.smhi.se/nyhetsarkiv/hilde-gav-sverige-ett-nytt-vindrekord-1.34251|accessdate=18 November 2013|newspaper=SMHI|date=18 November 2013|language=Swedish|archive-date=22 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122014437/http://www.smhi.se/nyhetsarkiv/hilde-gav-sverige-ett-nytt-vindrekord-1.34251|url-status=dead}} The station also recorded the highest gust (2 seconds) ever recorded in November during the storm at {{convert|56|m/s|km/h mph}} with the previous monthly record of {{convert|55|m/s|km/h mph}} recorded at Tarfala 7 November 2003, The highest ever gust recorded during any month in Sweden is {{convert|81|m/s|km/h mph}} recorded 20 December 1992.

File:Wind storm Hilde - 17 Nov 2013 - 2.jpg

Inland at lower altitudes the strongest gusts were {{convert|29|m/s|km/h mph}} recorded at Vilhelmina, Västerbotten County and Frösön, Jämtland, which were lower than those seen during the Dagmar storm in 2011.

In Norway electricity was cut to 35,000 homes at the height of the storm, mostly in Trøndelag and Helgeland.{{cite news|title=Fury of 'Hilde' stuns central Norway|url=http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/11/17/hilde-slams-into-northwest-coast/|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=News in English.no|date=17 November 2013}} The storm at its height left 36,000 without electricity in Jämtland, Västernorrland and Västerbotten in Sweden, which had been reduced to 28,000 by mid morning 17 November, with electricity suppliers warning some customers may not be reconnected until Monday 18 November.{{cite news|last=Carp|first=Ossi|title=28.000 hushåll utan ström|url=http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/28000-hushall-utan-strom/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131117132001/http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/28000-hushall-utan-strom/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 November 2013|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|language=Swedish}} In Finland, an estimated 230,000 households were without electricity.{{cite news|title=Eino-myrsky edennyt jo itäiseen Suomeen – yli 230 000 kotia ilman sähköä|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/eino-myrsky_edennyt_jo_itaiseen_suomeen__yli_230000_kotia_ilman_sahkoa/6938273|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=Yleisradio|date=17 November 2013|language=Finnish}}

Northern Sweden also saw problems with the mobile and land line phone network, with 15,000 customers without land line connections on 17 November, in the towns of Vilhelmina and Dorotea inhabitants had difficulty in reaching the emergency services telephone number.{{cite news|title=Strömlösa får vänta på elen|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/stromlosa-far-vanta-pa-elen/|access-date=17 November 2013|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|date=17 November 2013|language=Swedish}} The Norwegian communications company Telenor reported that in Nord-Trøndelag 2,800 broadband and 4,600 fixed line customers were without service and in Nordland 300 broadband customers and 460 fixed line customers were also without service on 18 November. The company also reported difficulties with the mobile phone network in these counties, with over 150 2G base stations down and 60 3G base stations out of service.{{cite news|title=Storm Hilde hits phone services in Norway|url=http://www.telecompaper.com/news/storm-hilde-hits-phone-services-in-norway--980388|accessdate=18 November 2013|newspaper=Telecompaper|date=18 November 2013}}

In Finland the regions of Häme, Tampere, Ostrobothnia, Satakunta and Savo, were particularly affected, with the storm felling many trees and breaking power lines. In western regions of Finland rail lines were disrupted.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

In Russia power outages were reported in the town of Lakhdenpokhya, Republic of Karelia due to the strong winds.{{cite news|title=High winds cause power outages in Russia's Karelia|url=http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/707712|accessdate=18 November 2013|newspaper=ITAR-TASS|date=17 November 2013}} Electricity supplies were also cut to 108 villages throughout the Leningrad region, while Saint Petersburg saw electricity lines, billboards, roofing and traffic signals toppled.{{cite news|title=Fuerte huracán azota a San Petersburgo|url=http://spanish.ruvr.ru/news/2013_11_17/Fuerte-huracan-azota-a-San-Petersburgo-9200/|accessdate=21 November 2013|newspaper=The Voice of Russia|date=17 November 2013|language=Spanish}}

The Saint Petersburg Dam was closed in the early morning 17 November with a storm warning in place in the city.{{cite news|last=Davydova|first=Marina|title=Dam Sealed in St. Petersburg Against Flood Threat|url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131117/184761956/Dam-Sealed-in-St-Petersburg-Against-Flood-Threat.html|accessdate=18 November 2013|newspaper=RIA Novosti|date=17 November 2013}}

In the Gulf of Finland the closure of the St Petersburg dam left the ferry {{MS|Princess Maria||6}} was unable to enter port, waiting out the storm with 2800 passengers on board. Strong winds forced its St. Peter Line sister ferry the MS Princess Anastasia to return to Tallinn harbour.{{cite news|title=Tugev tuul sundis kruiisilaeva Tallinna sadamasse naasma|url=http://www.ohtuleht.ee/554014|accessdate=18 November 2013|newspaper=Õhtuleht|date=17 November 2013|language=Estonian}}

Several further low pressure systems impacted the Nordic countries immediately after the passage of Hilde.

Oskari (Vincenc) – November 29–December 4, 2013. 976 hPa.{{cite web|url=http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2013/brack/bracka20131201.gif|title=December 1, 2013 surface analysis|work=Met Office|accessdate=29 December 2013}} Named by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Oskari was stronger than Hilde in Finland, with a maximum gust of {{convert|34.7|m/s|km/h}} at Märket skerry lighthouse, to the west of Åland.{{cite news|title=Oskari starkare än Eino|url=http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2013/12/02/oskari-starkare-eino|accessdate=16 February 2014|newspaper=YLE|date=2 December 2013|language=Swedish}}

{{main|Cyclone Xaver}}

Named Bodil by Danish Meteorological Institute and Sven by SMHI, the storm brought Force 12 winds and heavy snowfall. The storm brought a storm surge to the Irish and North Seas with coastal flooding resulting from what the Environment Agency in the United Kingdom described as the worst storm surge in 60 years. Record water levels were also reported in the Øresund between Sweden and Denmark. Blizzards and severe weather in Sweden and Poland led to several fatalities. The North Sea storm surge on 4–5 December 2013 saw water damage 1,400 buildings and {{convert|6800|ha}} of land, and caused no direct deaths.{{cite web|publisher=United Kingdom Met Office |title=The Recent Storms and Floods in the UK |archivedate=23 February 2014 |accessdate=11 February 2014 |url-status=live |last1=Slingo |first1=Julia |last2=Belcher |first2=Stephen |last3=Scaife |first3=Adam |last4=McCarthy |first4=Mark |last5=Saulter |first5=Andy |last6=McBeath |first6=Kirsty |last7=Jenkins |first7=Alan |last8=Huntingford |first8=Chris |date=11 February 2014 |last9=Marsh |first9=Terry |last11=Parry |first11=Simon |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/2/Recent_Storms_Briefing_Final_SLR_20140211.pdf |last10=Hannaford |first10=Jamie |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223174501/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/2/Recent_Storms_Briefing_Final_SLR_20140211.pdf }} This was attributed to the warnings that were issued several days in advance and the improved coastal defences that had been built since the North Sea flood of 1953.

Ivar named by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, and Seija by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.{{cite news|title=Stormen mattas av före tio|url=http://hbl.fi/nyheter/2013-12-13/541626/stormen-mattas-av-fore-tio|accessdate=13 December 2013|newspaper=Hufudstadsbladet|archive-date=2013-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213110453/http://hbl.fi/nyheter/2013-12-13/541626/stormen-mattas-av-fore-tio|url-status=dead}} unnamed by the FUB. December 10–17, 2013. 977 hPa.{{cite web|url=http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2013/brack/bracka20131213.gif|title=December 13, 2013 surface analysis|work=Met Office|accessdate=29 December 2013}} With a route and intensity similar to Hilde, Ivar once again brought hurricane-force winds to central Norway.{{cite news|title=Sammanfattning av stormen Ivar|url=http://www.smhi.se/nyhetsarkiv/sammanfattning-av-stormen-ivar-1.34911|accessdate=17 February 2014|newspaper=SMHI|language=Swedish|archive-date=14 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144953/http://www.smhi.se/nyhetsarkiv/sammanfattning-av-stormen-ivar-1.34911|url-status=dead}} In Norway 50,000 customers were without power.{{cite news|title=Vinterstorm i Norge og Sverige: Tusinder mister strømmen|url=http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Udland/2013/12/13/1213070609.htm|accessdate=16 February 2014|newspaper=Danish Broadcasting Corporation|date=13 December 2014|language=Danish}} In Sweden the storm left 55,000 across Norrland without power.{{cite news|title=Storm Ivar leaves thousands without power|url=http://www.thelocal.se/20131213/storm-ivar-leaves-thousands-without-power-sweden|accessdate=13 December 2013|newspaper=The Local (se)|date=13 December 2013}} Near record level winds were reported from Finland, where 200,000 were left without power.{{cite news|title=Storm brings near-record high winds|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/storm_brings_near-record_high_winds/6982983|accessdate=13 December 2013|newspaper=YLE|date=13 December 2013}} Estonia saw winds up to 115 km/h and 45,000 homes without electricity.{{cite news|title=Storm Damage: 45,000 Households Without Power|url=http://news.err.ee/v/society/b7a515bc-7ccc-4802-937b-c79c4075e937|accessdate=13 December 2013|newspaper=Estonian Public Broadcasting|date=13 December 2013}} Described as more powerful than both Hilde and Oskari, but slightly weaker than Cyclone Dagmar of 2011 in Finland.{{cite news|title=Seija kraftigare än både Eino och Oskari|url=http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2013/12/13/seija-kraftigare-bade-eino-och-oskari|accessdate=16 February 2014|newspaper=YLE|date=13 December 2013|language=Swedish}} Video of shoppers in Ålesund, Norway, struggling against the wind from the storm was shown widely on internet after becoming a hit on YouTube.{{cite news|title=You think Christmas shopping on your high street is bad? Check out this video from Norway…|url=http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/15/you-think-christmas-shopping-on-your-high-street-is-bad-check-out-this-video-from-norway-4231056/|accessdate=28 February 2014|newspaper=Metro|date=15 December 2013}} Hilde and Ivar brought the worst forest damage to Scandinavia since the New Year's Day Storm of 1992.{{cite news|last=Sandmo|first=Espen|title=Hilde og Ivar ødela skog for millioner|url=http://www.nrk.no/trondelag/hilde-og-ivar-odela-for-millioner-1.11427021|accessdate=16 February 2014|newspaper=NRK|date=19 December 2013|language=Norwegian}}

Zaki – December 12–16, 2013 and Adam December 14–19, 2013. 952 hPa.{{cite web|url=http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2013/brack/bracka20131216.gif|title=December 16, 2013 surface analysis|work=Met Office|accessdate=29 December 2013}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://yle.fi/uutiset/gallery_einos_wake_of_destruction/6938824 YLE Galley: Eino's wake of destruction]
• [http://www.eumetsat.int/website/home/Images/ImageLibrary/DAT_2085328.html EUMETSAT summary: Storms over Scandinavia]
• [http://www.smhi.se/kunskapsbanken/meteorologi/simone-hilde-sven-och-ivar-okt-dec-2013-1.76183 SMHI; Simone, Hilde, Sven och Ivar okt-dec 2013 (in Swedish)]

{{European windstorms}}

Hilde

Category:2013 meteorology

Category:2013 disasters in Europe

Category:Northern Europe