Source

The storm developed off the east coast of the US on 29^th January 2014 and moved northeastwards towards the UK. On 30^th January, southwest of Iceland, the storm combined with, and was enhanced by, another low-pressure system located over Greenland. The central pressures deepened rapidly to below 950 mbar. The storm then travelled eastwards towards Ireland, before turning north and crossing northwest Scotland. It then moved northeastwards into the Norwegian Sea on 3^rd February 2014. Wind gusts of almost 60 knots [31 m/s] were recorded at Dundrennan, Kirkcubrightshire, and over 50 knots [26 m/s] on the south coast (Met Office, 2014a). Winds were gusting at around 70 knots [36 m/s] in Aberystwyth (BBC, 2014). The storm was one of a series of successive storms that moved across the UK, separated by an interval of only a few days (Met Office, 2014a).

The storm generated a skew surge of between 0.25–0.75 m at many sites along the UK west and south coasts, and in Scotland. Water levels exceeded the 1 in 5 year return level at 8 sites along the west coast. The highest return period water level was at Stornoway and was 1 in 35 years. The next largest return period of 1 in 20 years was at Workington. The highest skew surge was at Workington and was 0.62 m. At Stornoway, the skew surge was 0.48 m. The event occurred about a day before peak spring tides.

We are unaware of any sources describing the wave conditions during this event.

Pathway

The primary mechanism of defence failure during this event was wave overtopping on the open coast and overflow (of defences and land) in estuarine areas and river catchments.

Receptor and Consequence

This event was associated with flooding around many parts along the UK southwest and west coasts, with impacts exacerbated due to the occurrence of several storms and consequent flooding during the preceding days (Haigh et al., 2015). In Aberystwyth, hundreds of students were, as a precaution, relocated from their homes after streets were flooded. Parts of the Bristol Harbour entrance flooded after the River Avon rose above its banks (The Guardian, 2014). An amateur video report shows flooding in several streets in Looe. In Tirley Village the B4213 and A417 roads were closed due to flooding (Tirley Council, 2014). Another video shows that flooding occurred by waves overtopping defences at high tide in the area between Little Bispham, Blackpool, and Cleveleys at around noon on 1^st February.  Over the weekend of 1^st February, about 180 homes were affected by river and coastal floods (Daily Mail, 2014). Also reported was damage to the promenades in Newlyn and Penzance, whilst large waves flooded houses across Cornwall. At Newgale (southwest Wales) severe flooding was reported and a bus was hit by a large wave and ten passengers needed to be rescued. In Newquay, significant cliff erosion occurred and a part of the sea wall at Towan Beach was undermined, which led to failure and damage to the adjacent road. In the River Severn, a large tidal bore was expected, which raised concern of further flooding in the area. The storms also caused significant coastal erosion in many areas (Met Office, 2014b).

Summary Table