The 2022–23 European windstorm season was the deadliest and costliest European windstorm season on record, mainly because of the impact in northern Libya of Storm Daniel, which became the deadliest and costliest medicane ever recorded as well as the deadliest tropical or subtropical system worldwide since 2013. The 2022–23 season was the eighth instance of the European windstorm naming in Europe. It comprised a year from 1 September to 31 August, except in the Eastern Mediterranean Group which is shifted a month later and as such Storm Daniel was named on 4 September and lasted until 12 September, and Storm Elias existed two weeks later and overlapped with the first storm of the succeeding season named by Greece. This was the fourth season where the Netherlands participated, alongside the United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann in the western group. The Portuguese, Spanish, French and Belgian meteorological agencies collaborated for the sixth time, joined by Luxembourg's agency (South-western group). This is the second season where Greece, Israel and Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean group), and Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta (Central Mediterranean group) named storms which affected their areas.
Background and naming
Definitions and naming conventions
There is no universal definition of what constitutes a windstorm in Europe, nor is there a universally accepted system of naming storms. For example, in the Western Group, consisting of the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands, a storm is named if one of the meteorological agencies in those countries issues an orange warning (amber in the UK), which generally requires a likelihood of widespread sustained wind speeds greater than 65 km/h, or widespread wind gust speeds over 110 km/h. (Required wind speeds vary slightly by agency and by season.) Both the likelihood of impact and the potential severity of the system are considered when naming a storm. The Southwest Group of Spain, Portugal, and France share a similar storm-naming scheme, though their names differ from those used by the Western Group. In Greece, however, naming criteria were established for storms when the storm's forecasted winds are above 50 km/h over land, with the wind expected to have a significant impact to infrastructures. In Denmark, a windstorm must have an hourly average windspeed of at least 90 km/h (25 m/s). The Meteorology Department of the Free University of Berlin (FUB) names all high and low pressure systems that affect Europe, though they do not assign names to any actual storms. A windstorm that is associated with one of these pressure systems will at times be recognized by the name assigned to the associated pressure system by the FUB. Named windstorms that have been recognized by a European meteorological agency are described in this article. Naming conventions used in Europe are generally based on conditions that are forecast, not conditions that have actually occurred, as public awareness and preparedness are often cited as the main purpose of the naming schemes–for example, a reference. Therefore, an assignment of a storm name does not mean that a storm will actually develop.
Western Group (United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands) In 2015, the Met Office and Met Éireann announced a project to name storms as part of the "Name our Storms" project for windstorms and asked the public for suggestions. The meteorological offices produced a full list of names for 2015–2016 through 2017–2018, common to both the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the Netherlands taking part from 2019 onwards. Names in the United Kingdom will be based on the National Severe Weather Warning Service. The following names were chosen for the 2022–23 season in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. For a windstorm to be named, the United Kingdom's Met Office, Ireland's Met Eireann, and the Netherlands KNMI have to issue an amber weather warning, preferably for wind, but a storm can also be named for amber warnings of rain and snow (e.g. Storm Arwen in 2021).
South-western Group (France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Luxembourg) This was the sixth year in which the meteorological agencies of France, Spain and Portugal named storms that affected their areas.
Southeastern Mediterranean Group (Greece, Israel and Cyprus) The following names were chosen for the 2022–23 season in Greece, Israel and Cyprus.
Central Mediterranean Group (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta) The following names were chosen for the 2022–23 season in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta.
Northern Group (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) This naming group, like the naming from the Free University of Berlin, does not use a naming list but names storms when it has not received a name by any other meteorological service in Europe and is projected to affect Denmark, Norway or Sweden.
Central & Southern Group (Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria) The Free University of Berlin names storms based on low pressures across the continent and does not use a naming list.
Ex-Atlantic Hurricane One former Atlantic hurricane transitioned into a European windstorm and retained its name as assigned by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida:
Season summary
All storms named by European meteorological organisations in their respective forecasting areas, as well as Atlantic hurricanes that transitioned into European windstorms and retained the name assigned by the National Hurricane Center:
Storms
Ex-Hurricane Danielle
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