earth science

Storm Vivian

Storm Vivian is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Storm Vivian rather than just read about it. In short: Vivian was one of a series of severe European windstorms in 1990. It struck large parts of Europe from 25 to 27 February 1990 and cost 64 people their lives.

Key takeaways

Storm Vivian belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Storm Vivian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Storm Vivian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vivian was one of a series of severe European windstorms in 1990. It struck large parts of Europe from 25 to 27 February 1990 and cost 64 people their lives. A few days later it was followed by windstorm Wiebke. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (26.5 B USD), Cyclone Daria (known as Burns' Day Storm in the UK) in January 1990 and Windstorm Lothar in 1999 (each costing c. B USD), and the Great Storm of 1987 (4.3 B USD) Vivian/Wiebke was one of the most expensive Atlantic storms in history, costing 4 B USD of insurance payments. In his report Winter storms in Europe - History from 1703 to 2012 (Winterstürme in Europa - Historie von 1703 bis 2012), Aon Benfield assessed the cost of insurance payouts for storm damage in Germany as 1.5 billion euros.

Area Apart from Germany (15 deaths), other countries affected badly were the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. In Hamburg there were several successive storm surges. Thanks to the storms, the Rosenmontag parade in Düsseldorf was postponed until May, whilst in Cologne it went ahead with high safety precautions. Death toll: The fatalities are given as 64 persons, the damage is estimated as ca. 1.11 billion €.

Wiebke (storm) From 28 February to 1 March 1990 In central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) Death toll: 35 persons German version: Wiebke (storm)

Particularly in mountain regions, a large number of trees were damaged. (Even complete spruce and beech stands/forests). Hundreds of trees were bent or thrown like matches. Extrapolations go of 60 to 70 million cubic meters of extra "cut" wood by the storm, which corresponded to about twice the annual harvesting in Germany.

References

External links DWD, Extreme Wetter- und Witterungsereignisse im 20. Jahrhundert (pdf file; 412 kB) Münchener Rück zu den Stürmen 1990 und 1999 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 30, 2007) (pdf file; 2,30 MB) Wie viel "Störung" verträgt der Wald? Text und Audio zu einer Langzeitstudie der Eidgenössischen Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft über die Folgen von Vivian..

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Storm Vivian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Storm Vivian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Storm Vivian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Storm Vivian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Storm Vivian

In research: Storm Vivian appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Storm Vivian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Storm Vivian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990 natural disasters, European windstorms, Meteorological events in 1990, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Storm Vivian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Storm Vivian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Storm Vivian means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Storm Vivian out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Storm Vivian in simple terms?

Vivian was one of a series of severe European windstorms in 1990. It struck large parts of Europe from 25 to 27 February 1990 and cost 64 people their lives.

Why does Storm Vivian matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Storm Vivian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Storm Vivian.