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Europe in the path of unusual
North Atlantic storm track
Vendee Globe race delayed by four days after 70
knot winds turn the Bay of Biscay into a nightmare ... Meanwhile England's city of York
offers residents a water view not seen for more than 400 years
Huge waves swamp this lighthouse
at the entrance to the harbour at Les Sables d'Olone on the Bay of Biscay as an
incredibly deep and compact low smashes into the French coastline on November 6.
Image ©
Reuters
November 8, 2000
It doesn't take a meteorology PhD to understand why organisers of the Vendee
Globe solo 'round the world race at Les Sables d'Olone postponed the start for
four days.
Have a look at the animated images below and you can see the clear
circulation of cloud showing the formation of a compact low over the Bay of
Biscay, driving south west then westerly winds onto the French coastine.
Images courtesy of UK Met Bureau.
70 knot winds
Winds gusting to 70 knots were reported with sustained 50 knot winds, while
the rainband to the north caused rivers in northern England to rise again,
bringing misery to areas threatened by flood waters since the last storm
on October 30.
In fact, parts of Kent and Sussex first flooded on October 12, after a trough
system overhead caused flash flooding. Residents there have yet to dry out.
Cautious sailors
Getting back to the Vendee Globe: Four years ago when the race left Les
Sables d'Olone, the 13 skippers sailed headlong into a low pressure cell in the
Bay of Biscay, sending several back to port for repairs and ending their
chances for a place on the podium.
Following a string of near-disasters in the Southern Ocean (followed by the
complete disappearance of one competitor), organisers have been keen to show the
world that this race - the most challenging yacht race in the world - is not
just for a bunch of careless adrenalin junkies.
The Bay of Biscay is no treat either in these kind of conditions. With
relatively shallow water in the northern half of the bay, waves driven out of
the Atlantic rear up and the distance between them grows shorter. While the
continental shelf comes close to the coast along the southern half of the bay, the
deeper water - and less violent wave action - is worth nothing when sailors have
to navigate a lee shore. In bad conditions skippers will run downwind, and in
the Bay of Biscay that means heading for shore - and certain disaster.
On top of this, the Open 60 monohulls that dominate this race right now
do not go to windward well. Their flat bottoms slam something awful and repeated
stress of this kind causes delamination between fibreglass skins and the hull's
core material.
Finally, race rules allow skippers to return only to Les Sables d'Olone
without facing disqualification, and as you can see from the picture at the top
of the story - it is not a safe harbour entrance in storm conditions!
What else happened?
Here are some of the events in Britian associated with this low pressure cell,
derived from wire media sources (primarily Reuters):
- Flood chaos and heavy rain continued to cause havoc across Britain as 39 severe flood warnings of imminent danger to life and property in effect on 29 rivers.
-
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott visited people in afflicted areas of Kent but warned climate change will make floods a
'regular feature'.
- Flood waters were threatened historic Hampton Court Palace in south-west London,
as a result of a rising River Thames.
-
The worst hit areas of the country remain Kent, Sussex, the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands.
-
Prescott cut short a trip to Brussels for European Union talks on global warming to visit flood damaged areas in the South East.
-
In Yalding, Kent the floods returned for the third time this autumn, and just weeks after surging river levels led to 30 villagers being evacuated from their homes.
-
Flood waters were also back in Uckfield, East Sussex, another village recently affected.
-
The Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning in Surrey after the River Wey burst its banks, flooding more than 20 homes, and dozens of roads in Guildford were flooded after an overnight torrential downpour.
-
The River Thames between Shepperton and Teddington was also subject to a severe flood warning.
-
In the North East, the Environment Agency said seven severe flood warnings were in place on five rivers, including the River Pont in Northumberland, and the River Wear in Co
Durham
-
In Ponteland, where Northumbria Police has its headquarters, around 100 homes were reported flooded after water from the River Pont deluged the village centre.
-
Fire crews were also out in Blyth, Morpeth and Rothbury dealing with water from overflowing rivers.
-
It was a similar picture in Co Durham, and east Cleveland where 400 residents of Skinningrove were under threat from torrential flood waters.
-
Heavy rain was also causing flood chaos across the east coast of Scotland. Roads were closed in several areas of Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, where police warned motorists only to make essential journeys.
- Forecasters warned Britain faces more devastating storms over the coming months and must prepare for wild weather over Christmas.
-
Piers Corbyn, of Weather Action, who bases his forecasts on solar activity, told a news conference in London: “This is a severe weather warning. It will be as bad as we have seen and probably worse.”
- The River Uck at Uckfield in Sussex flooding the town for the second time in three weeks.
-
The Environment Agency’s head praised a British government decision to spend STG51 million against floods over the next four years.
-
Parts of Britain have seen some of their worst flooding in 40 years over recent days.
The swollen River Ouse in northern England, whose flood waters have driven 3,000 people from their homes, failed to breach flood defences overnight today, sparing the historic city of York from further damage.
-
“The River Ouse peaked at the highest river level since 1625,” a spokesman for Britain’s Environment Agency said
on November 4 - before this latest bout of rainfall.
©
weather-wise.com 2000
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