Gale of January 1976

"Capella" storm
Capella storm January 1976 approaching Ireland
TypeEuropean windstorm, extratropical, extratropical storm surge
Formed1 January 1976
Dissipated5 January 1976
Highest gust116 kn (215 km/h; 133 mph) Lowther Hills, Strathclyde Scotland[1]
Lowest pressure962 hPa (28.4 inHg)[2]
Fatalities82[3]-100[4]
Areas affectedIreland, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Denmark, West Germany, East Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia
Surgewatch.org UK coastal flooding severity,
Medium 3/6[5]

The Gale of January 1976, widely known as the "Capella" storm in Germany and the Ruisbroek flood in Belgium, was one in a series of extratropical cyclones and storm surges, which occurred over January 1976. The gale of 2–5 January 1976 resulted in severe wind damage across western and central Europe and coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts. At the time, this was the most severe storm of the century over the British Isles.[6] Total fatalities reached 82 across Europe, although a figure of 100 is given by the World Meteorological Organization.[4] Of these 24 were reported in Britain and 4 in Ireland.[7] Overall losses of US$1.3 billion were incurred, with insured losses standing at US$500 million (1976).[3]

  1. ^ "Monthly Weather Report: January 1976" (PDF). Met Office. 1976. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Berz, Gerhard (1988). "List of major natural disasters, 1960–1987". Natural Hazards. 1 (1): 97–99. Bibcode:1988NatHa...1...97B. doi:10.1007/BF00168223. S2CID 128940903.
  4. ^ a b "North Atlantic Oscillation and extreme windstorms" (PDF). World Climate News. 31: 5. June 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  5. ^ "1976-01-03". www.surgewatch.org. SurgeWatch. 3 January 1976. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference KNMI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "The Storminess Record from Armagh Observatory, N. Ireland 1796–2002". Armagh Observatory Meteorology Databank. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.