Storm Eunice

This article is about the 2022 European windstorm. For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Eunice.

Storm Eunice
Storm Eunice on 17 February 2022
Meteorological history
Formed17 February 2022
Dissipated19 February 2022
Extratropical cyclone
Highest gusts196 km/h (122 mph; 106 kn) at The Needles, Isle of Wight
Overall effects
Fatalities
  • 17
    • Netherlands: 4
    • Poland: 4
    • Germany: 3
    • United Kingdom: 3
    • Belgium: 2
    • Ireland: 1
Damage
  • >€1.83 billion
    **£369 million (€435.8 million; UK)[1]
Areas affectedBelgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom
Power outages3,100,000 at peak[3][4][5][6]
Part of the 2021–2022 European windstorm season

Storm Eunice (/ˈjuːnɪs/) (known as Storm Zeynep in Germany and Storm Nora in Denmark) was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds that was part of the 2021–2022 European windstorm season. Storm Eunice was named by the UK Met Office on 14 February 2022. A red weather warning was issued on 17 February for parts of South West England and South Wales, with a second red warning issued on 18 February, the day the storm struck, for London, the South East and East of England.

Eunice set a new record for the fastest wind gust recorded in England with 122 miles per hour (196 km/h) at The Needles, Isle of Wight. The storm was one of the most powerful to impact the south coast of England since the Great Storm of 1987.[7]

The storm caused a huge amount of damage in parts of Western, Central and Northern Europe; millions of people were left without power across affected areas, and many homes had sustained damage. The UK was particularly hard hit, with 1.4 million homes left without power at its peak. Several other countries were struck hard by Eunice, with wind damage being mostly the cause of it. Heavy winds damaged parts of buildings, and wind gusts in excess of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h) were recorded. Eunice caused 17 fatalities, and multiple injuries.

  1. ^ Hughes, Tammy (19 February 2022). "Storm Eunice: Damage could cost £360m as hundreds of thousands still without power". www.standard.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Schätzung: "Zeynep" kostet Versicherer über 900 Millionen Euro" [Estimate: "Zeynep" costs insurers over 900 million euros]. Die Zeit (in German). Zeit Online. 19 February 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Storm Franklin: More wind warnings after Storm Eunice". BBC News. 20 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. ^ Neville, Steve; Hoare, Pádraig; Clarke, Vivienne (18 February 2022). "Storm Eunice: 80,000 without power with most extensive damage in West Cork and Kerry". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Cztery osoby nie żyją, setki tysięcy odbiorców bez prądu po wichurach" [Four dead, hundreds of thousands without power after storms]. tvn24.pl (in Polish). 19 February 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  6. ^ Von Mdr Aktuell. "Sturm "Zeynep" richtet im Norden große Schäden an". MDR.DE. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. ^ Robinson, Matthew; Knapton, Sarah (17 February 2022). "Britons brace for Storm Eunice – the worst in over 30 years". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.