Storm Alex continues to spread heavy rain, gusty winds to parts of Europe
By
Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Sep 29, 2020 6:08 PM EDT
Beaches in Nice, France, were closed on Oct. 2, as storms brought strong wind and heavy rain to the country’s south coast.
Storm Alex is being blamed for at least three deaths in Italy and France setting records for rain and wind into the beginning of the weekend, but the large storm system isn't done impacting Europe just yet.
Storm Alex will continue its slow trek across France into the end of the weekend. As the storm spins over western Europe, it will bring rounds of rain from the British Isles and northern Spain to Germany and the Balkan Peninsula.
"Additional rainfall amounts of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) are likely across parts of northern France, the United Kingdom and the Alps," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys. He added that an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 150 mm (6 inches) will be possible in these areas, especially into the higher elevations.
Across the rest of the U.K., France, northern Spain and northern Italy, rainfall totals of 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) are expected.
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Gusty winds will continue to develop as a result of Storm Alex through the weekend. However, any gusts that occur from Friday evening onward will not be able to reach nearly the level of what occurred over Brittany.
The strongest winds into Saturday will be largely located across western France, mainly along the coast as Storm Alex moves over France.
"Wind gusts of 65-97 km/h (40-60 mph) are forecast across the southern coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland, western and southern France and northern Spain into Sunday night," added Roys.
As a result of continued rain and wind from Storm Alex, portions of Europe are likely to experience flash flooding, broken tree limbs, localized power outages and transportation delays. Coastal flooding and rough surf will also remain threats while Storm Alex is at its strongest late this week.
"Storm Alex is likely to bring moderate coastal flooding across the exposed coastline of northern Spain and far southwestern France Friday, with waves of 6-9 meters (20-30 feet) anticipated," said Roys.
A storm is determined to be a windstorm if it's forecast to bring widespread impacts to a region. When it is officially recognized as a windstorm, it is then given a name by one of the many meteorological agencies in western Europe.
There are three separate European storm naming groups, according to the U.K. Met Office. In the case of Storm Alex, it was named by the South Western group, which consists of Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.
According to the U.K. Met Office, once a storm is named by another weather service in Europe it is agreed that the same name will be used by all weather services in order to retain a consistent message.
Windstorms are most common from September through early April, but there is no official start and end date to the season as there is for the Atlantic hurricane season.
A windstorm in August took some in western Europe by surprise as it formed before the list of names for the 2020-2021 season was released. Officials at Met Éireann in Ireland chose to select the name Ellen for the early storm, which alphabetically was the next name from the 2019-2020 season's list.
Rarely issued "red status" wind warnings were sent out for parts of Ireland, while yellow and orange wind warnings extended across Wales and England. Portions of both Ireland and the U.K. experienced destructive flooding from Ellen.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Storm Alex continues to spread heavy rain, gusty winds to parts of Europe
By Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Sep 29, 2020 6:08 PM EDT
Beaches in Nice, France, were closed on Oct. 2, as storms brought strong wind and heavy rain to the country’s south coast.
Storm Alex is being blamed for at least three deaths in Italy and France setting records for rain and wind into the beginning of the weekend, but the large storm system isn't done impacting Europe just yet.
Storm Alex will continue its slow trek across France into the end of the weekend. As the storm spins over western Europe, it will bring rounds of rain from the British Isles and northern Spain to Germany and the Balkan Peninsula.
"Additional rainfall amounts of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) are likely across parts of northern France, the United Kingdom and the Alps," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys. He added that an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 150 mm (6 inches) will be possible in these areas, especially into the higher elevations.
Across the rest of the U.K., France, northern Spain and northern Italy, rainfall totals of 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) are expected.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Gusty winds will continue to develop as a result of Storm Alex through the weekend. However, any gusts that occur from Friday evening onward will not be able to reach nearly the level of what occurred over Brittany.
The strongest winds into Saturday will be largely located across western France, mainly along the coast as Storm Alex moves over France.
"Wind gusts of 65-97 km/h (40-60 mph) are forecast across the southern coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland, western and southern France and northern Spain into Sunday night," added Roys.
As a result of continued rain and wind from Storm Alex, portions of Europe are likely to experience flash flooding, broken tree limbs, localized power outages and transportation delays. Coastal flooding and rough surf will also remain threats while Storm Alex is at its strongest late this week.
"Storm Alex is likely to bring moderate coastal flooding across the exposed coastline of northern Spain and far southwestern France Friday, with waves of 6-9 meters (20-30 feet) anticipated," said Roys.
Related:
A storm is determined to be a windstorm if it's forecast to bring widespread impacts to a region. When it is officially recognized as a windstorm, it is then given a name by one of the many meteorological agencies in western Europe.
There are three separate European storm naming groups, according to the U.K. Met Office. In the case of Storm Alex, it was named by the South Western group, which consists of Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.
According to the U.K. Met Office, once a storm is named by another weather service in Europe it is agreed that the same name will be used by all weather services in order to retain a consistent message.
Windstorms are most common from September through early April, but there is no official start and end date to the season as there is for the Atlantic hurricane season.
A windstorm in August took some in western Europe by surprise as it formed before the list of names for the 2020-2021 season was released. Officials at Met Éireann in Ireland chose to select the name Ellen for the early storm, which alphabetically was the next name from the 2019-2020 season's list.
Rarely issued "red status" wind warnings were sent out for parts of Ireland, while yellow and orange wind warnings extended across Wales and England. Portions of both Ireland and the U.K. experienced destructive flooding from Ellen.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo