Three storms in six days
In the middle of February 2022 the Met Office named three storms in less than a week: Dudley, Eunice and Franklin. Eunice was the most severe, with rare red warnings for wind in south-west England, south Wales, and London and the south-east. Each storm shows at this station as its own dip in the pressure:
| Storm | Lowest pressure | When | Strongest gust | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dudley | 989.3 hPa | Wed 16 Feb, 17:55 | 32 mph | 0.6 mm |
| Eunice | 980.4 hPa | Fri 18 Feb, 12:10 | 37 mph | 3.8 mm |
| Franklin | 989.6 hPa | Sun 20 Feb, 17:45 | 28 mph | 10.2 mm |
Why storms come in a row
Lows form along the jet stream, a band of very strong wind high up that steers them. In February 2022 it was unusually strong and pointed straight at the British Isles, so lows formed one after another out over the Atlantic and were carried towards us like parcels on a conveyor belt. Each brought its own fronts, and between them the pressure barely had time to recover. Over the week the station found five likely warm fronts and three likely cold fronts. More on fronts.
Eunice: a sharp “V”
Eunice was a small, fast-moving and very deep low. At this station the pressure fell 8.8 hPa in the three hours to Fri 18 Feb, 03:35, bottomed out at 980.4 hPa at Fri 18 Feb, 12:10, then climbed 11.5 hPa in the three hours to Fri 18 Feb, 15:55. A fall and rise as quick as that is the mark of a tight, intense storm racing past. The strongest winds come where the pressure changes fastest, so the gusts peaked here, at 37 mph on Fri 18 Feb, 12:10, close to the bottom of the “V”, as the cold front came through and the pressure began to climb. More on air pressure.
Wind and shelter
The gusts here were well short of the 70 mph and more recorded on exposed coasts and hills. Inland, the ground slows the wind, and this station is sheltered by buildings and trees, so it reads lower still. What it shows well is the timing: each storm’s gusts arrive as its pressure dips. More on wind.
What to look for in the charts
- Pressure: three dips, one for each storm, with Eunice’s the deepest and sharpest.
- Temperature: mild air arriving with each warm front, and colder air behind each cold front.
- Wind: a burst of gusts with each storm, the strongest with Eunice.
- Rain: 28.6 mm over the 8 days, in bursts as the fronts passed.