Storm Ylenia (Dudley) wreaks havoc across northern Europe, leaving at least 5 people dead
Image credit: DW (stillshot)
Storm Ylenia, known as Dudley in the United Kingdom, hit Germany on February 18, 2022, wreaking havoc across the country and leaving at least three people dead. The storm also affected neighboring countries, including Netherlands and Poland, where two people lost their lives.
Ylenia brought winds speeds up to 152 km/h (95 mph) to Germany, causing traffic chaos and widespread power outages. The worst affected were the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Residents living in the affected region were advised against driving unless strictly necessary and to keep a distance from buildings, scaffolding, power lines and wooded areas like forests and national parks.
The national rail operator canceled long-distance trains in the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin and Brandenburg. All trains were canceled in Lower Saxony because of damage from the storm to the south of Hamburg, the operator said, with disruptions across the network expected until Saturday.1
Lufthansa canceled 20 flights and announced there would be delays because of bad weather.
More than 170 towns and cities were affected by power outages at 12:30 UTC, with around 50 000 affected customers in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.2
Water inundated streets in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state, with levels rising more than 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) above the average height. The Elbe River's waters rose to 1.5 – 2 m (4.9 – 6.6 feet) higher than normal.
Schools were closed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, among others, while Bremen moved to online schooling.
In Germany, the storm is blamed for the deaths of at least 3 people.
Strong winds damaged more than 500 homes in Poland and claimed the lives of 2 people.
Before hitting Germany, Ylena (Dudley) moved over the U.K., bringing widespread disruption to its northern parts on Wednesday night, February 16,
This was the first of two powerful windstorms to hit Europe this week.
On Friday, February 18, Storm Eunice is expected to deliver an even stronger blow to the United Kingdom and then move toward northern Europe.
Eunice forced the UK Met Office to issue rare Red Weather Warnings due to extremely strong winds expected in southern England.3
The Red Weather Warning for wind covers southwest coastal areas of the U.K., where the most significant gusts in exposed areas could be in excess of 145 km/h (90 mph) from early Friday morning. Further inland and within the wider Amber Warning area, gusts will still be significant and damaging for many, with 110 – 130 km/h (70 – 80 mph) gusts possible.
Strong winds could also bring coastal flooding to parts of the west, southwest and south coast of England, as well as the tidal River Severn, in the early hours of Friday morning. This is due to high waves and potential storm surge coinciding with the start of a period of spring tides.
References:
1 Storm Ylenia causes transport chaos in Germany – DW
2 German rail stops trains in half of country due to storms – Reuters
3 Rare Red Weather Warning issued – Storm Eunice expected to bring extremely strong winds, U.K. – The Watchers
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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