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Storm Poly
Subtropical storm over the North Sea in 2023 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Subtropical Storm Poly, also known as Cyclone Poly,[1] was an extremely violent European windstorm, and the first subtropical storm ever recorded over the North Sea according to a research conducted by the Utrecht University and the KNMI.[2] The storm affected the Benelux, Germany, and the United Kingdom during July 2023. The thirty-seventh windstorm and the first subtropical storm of the 2022–23 European windstorm season, Poly, was named by the Free University of Berlin on 4 July.
It later became the most intense summer storm to impact the Netherlands, bringing extremely severe gusts to the country, peaking at 148 km/h (92 mph) in IJmuiden.[3][4][5] In Germany, lesser winds of 80–97 kilometres per hour (50–60 mph) were recorded.[6] Poly was one of only three subtropical cyclones reaching a hurricane-equivalent intensity. Furthermore, Poly was the second-most powerful subtropical cyclone in terms of maximum sustained winds. It was also the third-most intense subtropical cyclone on record in terms of pressure, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 987 mbar.
In total, two fatalities occurred: one in the Netherlands,[7] and another in Germany.[8] Poly caused at least €50,000,000 (2023) in damage, potentially exceeding €100,000,000.[9] There was a mild storm surge in the Netherlands due to Poly, which caused limited floodings in combination with a large amount of precipitation.
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Meteorological history
Subtropical storm Poly developed on the July of 4th, 2023, due to a baroclinic instability, initially starting as a cold-core extratropical cyclone. Over the night of July 5th, 2023, Poly underwent a rapid intensification process over the North Sea, where unusual warm sea surface temperatures were observed. In addition, Poly underwent a subtropical transition, resulting in the storm developing a shallow warm core, deeper convection happening within the system, and thermodynamic processes enhancing the rapid intensification process.[10] In the few hours before the subtropical storm made landfall in Noord-Holland, the system developed a violent wind field with hurricane-equivalent 1-minute maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. After Poly made landfall at 06:30 UTC, Poly maintained its intensity for a bit, until it rapidly weakened and dissapated on July 7th, 2023.
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Preparations and impacts
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The Netherlands
The Netherlands were affected the most by subtropical storm Poly.[5] A red wind warning was issued for the provinces of North Holland, Flevoland and Friesland as strong gusts were expected.[11] In the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, around 400 flights were canceled.[12] Hundreds were stranded in Amsterdam's central station since several domestic and overseas rail services were cancelled.[7] Hurricane-force winds were measured in the province of Noord-Holland, causing severe damage. The storm was responsible for local floodings in the Netherlands.[13] Over 25,000 people lost electricity due to Storm Poly.[14] In addition, an emergency alert was issued in Noord-Holland, recommending people to stay indoors, due to subtropical storm Poly causing violent winds. Members of the Dutch parliament criticized this though, due to the authorities redirecting people to Twitter for updates. [15]
Germany
The Deutscher Wetterdienst issued a level-three red warning for most of northern Germany, including Hamburg.[16] High-speed rail services to Cologne and Hamburg were cut off.[7] Additionally, some ferries from Germany to islands off the north coast were canceled, while powerful gusts toppled trees, disrupting a line between Hamburg and Sylt.[17]
United Kingdom and Belgium
The precursor low-pressure area to Poly would produce heavy rain for East Anglia, causing a game in Wimbledon to be postponed.[18] In Belgium, the Royal Meteorological Institute issued a code-yellow alert for all of the Flemish provinces, excluding Flemish Brabant, on 5 July.[19] When Poly affected Belgium, it primarily brought severe thunderstorms and locally intense gusts to the nation.[20]
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Records
Subtropical Storm Poly was the first subtropical cyclone ever observed over the North Sea, an event previously deemed implausible. [21] In addition, the most intense wind gust during summertime was observed in the Netherlands shortly after Poly made landfall, exceeding the previous record of 2015 by more than 15 mph. Furthermore, the maximum 1-hour sustained wind speed of 30.3 m/s was the highest in the summer since the start of the measurements and the highest since the Burns' Day Storm of 1990. [22]
Highest wind gust per country
References
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