Europe facing another 1-2 punch of disruptive storms
By
Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist &
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Feb 3, 2021 5:40 PM EST
Paris remained on flood alert on Feb. 2 with the River Seine's water levels still on the rise following heavy spells of rain.
Heavy snow has been the dominant weather theme this winter season in parts of central Europe, but a new storm cruising across the region could bring some areas their first dose of potent winds.
The first storm settled just northwest of Ireland and the United Kingdom on Tuesday, and has remained rather stationary since. The unmoving storm has already delivered periods of heavy rainfall through early Wednesday.
At the same time, a second storm that traveled through the English Channel Tuesday night is set to spread rain, and even snow, to parts of Germany, Poland and Czechia into Wednesday night.
On Wednesday afternoon, reports came in that water levels in parts of the Rhine River had rose so high that a small town in western Germany, Rees-Grietherort, became cut off.
The combination of the strengthening storm and its quick forward progression is expected to bring strong wind gusts across northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of northern Germany.
"Wind gusts of 50-60 mph (80-97 km/h) will occur across these areas with the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 80 mph (129 km/h)," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
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Areas of localized damage, power outages, coastal flooding along exposed beaches and transportation delays are expected from this storm.
"This storm will be unusual for Germany as windstorms have rarely tracked over the country this winter," added Roys. "This has been the winter for snow in central Europe."
Temperatures with this storm are expected to be slightly higher than previous storms, allowing most precipitation to fall as rain across western and central Europe. However, rain can mix with or change into snow as the storm runs into colder air sitting over eastern Europe.
Roys warned that snowfall can accumulate 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) in southern Denmark, northern Germany, northern Poland and into central Belarus with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches (30 cm). This can lead to road closures and travel disruptions.
Higher snowfall totals will be most likely where precipitation falls strictly as snow. In areas where some mixing can occur, snowfall accumulations can be limited to 1-3 inches (3-8 cm).
While heavy rainfall is not expected, any additional rain in areas such as France and the United Kingdom, areas that have been dealing with flooding concerns in recent days, can lead to flash flooding.
Dozens of flood warnings are out across England where rivers are still high following downpours from windstorms in recent weeks, including Storm Christoph which caused evacuations in parts of the United Kingdom.
Numerous roads are closed or under observation due to flooding across France in the wake of Storm Justine, which moved through last week. Rainfall caused rivers to rise and some to burst their banks, flooding nearby roadways.
Any additional rainfall can exacerbate flooding in these areas.
In the wake of this storm, AccuWeather meteorologists will be monitoring an unusual pattern that could set up over Europe through weekend.
The storm over the British Isles will remain through Friday, while a third storm is set to move into the Iberian Peninsula, then into France by Saturday. As this storm moves east, bringing the threat for heavy rain and snow to portions on central and eastern Europe, a fourth storm could be on the docket for Western Europe by Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Europe facing another 1-2 punch of disruptive storms
By Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist & Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Feb 3, 2021 5:40 PM EST
Paris remained on flood alert on Feb. 2 with the River Seine's water levels still on the rise following heavy spells of rain.
Heavy snow has been the dominant weather theme this winter season in parts of central Europe, but a new storm cruising across the region could bring some areas their first dose of potent winds.
The first storm settled just northwest of Ireland and the United Kingdom on Tuesday, and has remained rather stationary since. The unmoving storm has already delivered periods of heavy rainfall through early Wednesday.
At the same time, a second storm that traveled through the English Channel Tuesday night is set to spread rain, and even snow, to parts of Germany, Poland and Czechia into Wednesday night.
On Wednesday afternoon, reports came in that water levels in parts of the Rhine River had rose so high that a small town in western Germany, Rees-Grietherort, became cut off.
The combination of the strengthening storm and its quick forward progression is expected to bring strong wind gusts across northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of northern Germany.
"Wind gusts of 50-60 mph (80-97 km/h) will occur across these areas with the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 80 mph (129 km/h)," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Areas of localized damage, power outages, coastal flooding along exposed beaches and transportation delays are expected from this storm.
"This storm will be unusual for Germany as windstorms have rarely tracked over the country this winter," added Roys. "This has been the winter for snow in central Europe."
Temperatures with this storm are expected to be slightly higher than previous storms, allowing most precipitation to fall as rain across western and central Europe. However, rain can mix with or change into snow as the storm runs into colder air sitting over eastern Europe.
Roys warned that snowfall can accumulate 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) in southern Denmark, northern Germany, northern Poland and into central Belarus with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches (30 cm). This can lead to road closures and travel disruptions.
Higher snowfall totals will be most likely where precipitation falls strictly as snow. In areas where some mixing can occur, snowfall accumulations can be limited to 1-3 inches (3-8 cm).
Related:
While heavy rainfall is not expected, any additional rain in areas such as France and the United Kingdom, areas that have been dealing with flooding concerns in recent days, can lead to flash flooding.
Dozens of flood warnings are out across England where rivers are still high following downpours from windstorms in recent weeks, including Storm Christoph which caused evacuations in parts of the United Kingdom.
Numerous roads are closed or under observation due to flooding across France in the wake of Storm Justine, which moved through last week. Rainfall caused rivers to rise and some to burst their banks, flooding nearby roadways.
Any additional rainfall can exacerbate flooding in these areas.
In the wake of this storm, AccuWeather meteorologists will be monitoring an unusual pattern that could set up over Europe through weekend.
The storm over the British Isles will remain through Friday, while a third storm is set to move into the Iberian Peninsula, then into France by Saturday. As this storm moves east, bringing the threat for heavy rain and snow to portions on central and eastern Europe, a fourth storm could be on the docket for Western Europe by Monday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo