Anatol is the name given by the Free University of Berlin (the Danish TV2 channel named it "Adam"^[1] also often referred to as århundredets orkan (storm of the century) or Decemberorkanen (December Storm) in Denmark, and commonly as Carolastormen or Orkan Carola (Storm Carol) in Sweden) to a powerful winter storm that hit Denmark, Southwest Sweden, and Northern Germany on 3 December 1999. The storm had sustained winds of 146 km/h and wind gusts of up to 184 km/h, equivalent to an intense category 1 hurricane, which is unusually strong for storms in northern Europe. The storm caused 20 fatalities;^[2] in Denmark alone 7 died and more than 800 were injured.^[3]

According to the Danish Meteorological Institute, the storm is estimated to have caused damage in Denmark of DKK 13 billion (c. US$2 billion).^[3] In addition to wind damage, it caused major floods in coastal regions of the southeastern North Sea, reaching a high point of c. 5.5 m (18 ft) above normal sea level in southwestern Jutland, despite peaking during low tide. This is the second-highest ever recorded in the region (after the Burchardi flood of 1634) and had it peaked during high tide instead, it would likely have reached 6.5–7 m (21–23 ft), which by far would have been the highest ever recorded and near the top of the dikes protecting the town of Ribe.^[4]

The storm is referred to as an "orkan" in Scandinavia and Germany, which is a word commonly used for strong storms, also including hurricanes, that reach 12 on the Beaufort scale.^[5] Cyclone Anatol was a European windstorm.

See also

• Cyclone Lothar
• Cyclone Martin (1999)
• Storm Lothar

Sources

• Three extreme storms over Europe in December 1999 U. Ulbrich, A. H. Fink, M. Klawa and J. G. Pinto. Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie der Universität zu Köln.
• Windstorms in Denmark - from DMI (in Danish)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Winter storm Anatol.

References