Hurricane strength winds tear through Central Europe by Steph Ball
While severe gales affected many parts of the UK during Friday and overnight into Saturday, the storm system then intensified as it went howling across Central Europe. Particularly badly affected were Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic where wind speeds of over 100 mph (160Km/h) were recorded.
At home, winds were strong enough to cause severe rail delays on the West Coast mainline after containers from two freight trains were blown onto the tracks. The storm later named ‘Emma’ by German forecasters went on to cause problems across the Netherlands where rail and air travel was severely disrupted. At Salzburg Airport, in Austria, the winds were strong enough to blow over and badly damage some parked light aircraft. The storm system also brought heavy rain to some parts with snow in the mountains, along with hail and thunderstorms.
Some of the strongest gusts reported:
Loftus and Capel Curig, UK, 72mph (116 km/h) and 85mph ( 137km/h) respectively
Salzburg and Wien Schwechat Airport, Austria recorded 87mph (141 km/h), thought to be a rare event here
Cap Corse in North Corsica recorded gusts to 112mph (180 km/h)
Feldberg, Germany recorded 100mph (160 km/h)
Wendelstein mountain, Germany recorded winds of 139mph (222Km/h)
Winds are again expected to be rather gusty today in the UK while European forecasters expect the hurricane strength winds to gradually subside.
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