Cyclone Quimburga

{{short description|1972 European windstorm}}

{{redirect|Quimburga|the saint of this name|Cwenburh}}

{{Expand German|topic=hist|Orkan Quimburga|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox winter storm

|name = Cyclone Quimburga

|stormtype = European windstorm
Extratropical cyclone

|date formed = 11 November 1972{{cite web|title=Niedersachsen-Orkan 1972|url=http://www.saevert.de/2orkan1972.htm|work=Saevert|access-date=12 February 2012}}

|date dissipated = Unknown

|pressure = {{convert|953|hPa|inHg|abbr=on}}{{cite web|title=De storm van 13 november 1972|url=http://www.knmi.nl/bibliotheek/knmipubVerslag/Verslag248.pdf|publisher=KNMI|access-date=19 March 2012|language=nl}}

|gust = {{convert|245|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}

|casualties = 54{{cite news|title=54 Dead as Gale Winds Rake Europe, British Isles|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AXtQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XxEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7247,4500779&hl=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716094941/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AXtQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XxEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7247,4500779&hl=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 16, 2012|access-date=12 February 2012|newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel|date=14 November 1972}}{{cite web|title=Storm 1972|url=http://www.meteotuitjenhorn.nl/storm_1972.html|publisher=meteotuitjenhorn|access-date=19 March 2012|language=nl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521212934/http://www.meteotuitjenhorn.nl/storm_1972.html|archive-date=21 May 2012|url-status=dead}}

|areas affected = Newfoundland, British Isles, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Poland

}}

Cyclone Quimburga, also referred to as the Lower Saxony Storm,{{cite journal|last=Donat|first=Markus G.|author2=Gregor C. Leckebusch |author3=Simon Wild |author4=Uwe Ulbrich |title=Benefits and limitations of regional multi-model ensembles for storm loss estimations|journal=Climate Research|date=9 December 2010|volume=44|issue=2–3 |pages=211–225|doi=10.3354/cr00891|url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/cr_oa/c044p211.pdf|access-date=19 March 2012|bibcode=2010ClRes..44..211D|doi-access=free}} was a deadly European windstorm that struck northern and central Europe between 12 and 14 November, 1972. The storm has been described as one of the most devastating storm events during the 20th century.

The storm developed over the UK where it caused some localised damage in the south before moving across the North Sea where it underwent explosive cyclogenesis dropping from 969 hPa to 953 hPa.{{cite news|last1=Holland|first1=Peter|title=Starting with a Bang: Autumn Windstorms in Europe|url=http://www.rms.com/blog/2017/11/28/starting-with-a-bang-autumn-windstorms-in-europe/|access-date=28 November 2017|work=www.rms.com|publisher=RMS Blog|date=30 November 2017}} This development was fueled by the contrast between cold air in the parent low and the warm water of the North Sea. The storm brought wind gusts of over {{convert|35|m/s|km/h}} to large areas of the Netherlands, with gusts over {{convert|40|m/s|km/h|abbr=on}} across northern Germany. The greatest damage was reported across the German state of Lower Saxony, after which it is known in German as the Lower Saxony storm.

The storm destroyed the Königs Wusterhausen Central Tower, a {{convert|243|m|ft|abbr=on}} communications tower to the southwest of Berlin {{cite web|title=Mittelturm Königs Wusterhausen|url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=45467|publisher=skyscraperpage.com|access-date=19 March 2012}} and the church steeple in Berlin-Friedrichshagen.

File:Friedrichshagen-Kirche-1972.jpg

The courtyard of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute headquarters in De Bilt features a representation of the pressure map of the Quimburga storm.{{cite web|title=Virtual tour: Look around at KNMI|url=http://www.knmi.nl/virtuele_rondleiding/index_en.html|publisher=KNMI|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119043946/http://knmi.nl/virtuele_rondleiding/index_en.html|archive-date=19 January 2013|url-status=dead}}