Source

The storm developed south of Nova Scotia, Canada on 31^st December 2013 and moved northeastwards towards the UK. On 2^nd January 2014, the storm approached Ireland and combined with, and was enhanced by, another low-pressure system located south of Iceland. On 3^rd January, it then travelled north of Scotland and progressed northwards more slowly, where the central pressure dropped to below 960 mbar. Gusts of between 60 and 70 knots [31 to 36 m/s] were measured along the exposed parts of the west and south coasts of the UK. The highest recorded wind speed was 92 knots [47 m/s] at the Needles Old Battery on the Isle of Wight (Met Office, 2014).

The storm generated a skew surge of between 0.5 and 1 m at many sites on the west and south coasts of the UK. Water levels exceeded the 1 in 5 year return level at 20 sites in these regions; the highest number for any one event within this database. At 7 of these sites, the water level was the highest on record (for respective sites). The highest return period water level was at Portpatrick and was 1 in 244 years. The next largest return period of 1 in 68 years was at Port Erin, Isle of Man. The highest skew surge was at Millport and was 1.07 m.

Wave heights of 4.5 m were forecast in the Irish Sea (Isle of Man Today, 2014). Off the west coast of the UK, wave heights of up to 9 m were recorded for several days before and after January 3^rd (AON Benfield, 2014). Along parts of the Scottish coastline, [inshore] wave heights reached up to 1.8 m (BBC, 2014a).

Pathway

The flood pathways during this event were primarily overtopping observed in many locations across the southwest and west coasts.

Receptor and Consequence

This event was associated with widespread flooding in southwest England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (Haigh et al., 2015). On the Isle of Man, a police station was closed and flooding occurred in many coastal roads and promenades. A minimum of 250 properties were flooded during this event (Watkins, 2014; Natural Resources Wales, 2014). The harbour walls were overtopped by water levels of about 0.8 m over the crest level. In Scotland, about 100 people evacuated their homes (BBC, 2014a). In Lahinch, Ireland, there was extensive structural damage to coastal defences and surrounding businesses were flooded (RTE, 2014). In the southwest of the England there was flooding of streets in Looe, Kingsbridge and Salcombe. In Newquay, part of a coastal road collapsed due to the large waves overtopping the sea wall (Cornish Guardian, 2014). At the River Severn, the banks were overtopped when a large tidal bore arrived and caused ‘several inches’ of flooding of roads and houses in Minsterworth, Maisemore, Elmore and Newnham (BBC, 2014b). On the south coast at Hastings, large parts of the cliffed coastline eroded from the storm wave impacts (Metro, 2014). In north Wales, about 30 properties were flooded causing some people to be trapped at home by water up to waist deep (BBC, 2014c). In Jersey, flooding led to the closure of several roads (Jersey Evening Post, 2014). In combination with a successive Atlantic depression in the following days, approximately 110 coastal defences were damaged in Wales, with an estimated financial impact of £2.8 million (Natural Resources Wales, 2014). The total economic losses were estimated in excess of €75 million.

Summary Table

*No known sources of information available