Storm Ciaran hits France and England with hurricane-force winds
Wind speeds reached more than 120 mph in France and 100 mph in England as Storm Ciaran roared through the region on Thursday.
The strong jet stream currently flowing over the Northeast is a key element leading to the rapid development of a bomb cyclone heading towards France, Ireland and the United Kingdom with damaging winds and heavy rain.
Upper atmospheric wind speeds across Maine reached more than 200 mph on Tuesday, driven by a significant temperature change over the eastern United States. A weather balloon launched from Caribou, Maine, on Monday night recorded winds of 206 mph at an altitude of about 30,000 feet.
What is the jet stream?
How does a bomb cyclone form?
The name bomb cyclone comes from the term “bomb formation.”
What is a bomb cyclone?
Pilots in the area took advantage of strong tailwinds. The FOX Forecast Center found that Air France Flight 79, bound from Los Angeles to Paris on Tuesday morning, received a 200 mph increase in ground speed by flying into the heart of the jet stream, moving at 768 mph relative to the ground. The flight typically expects to reach a ground speed of about 559 mph.
The fast jet stream takes hours to fly from the US to the UK
A noisy jet stream takes up to hours of a flight from the United States to Europe, but it adds that time when heading west. Captain Mike Coffield explains.
Another flight that left Los Angeles for London on Tuesday night managed to reach a speed of 784 mph compared to the ground while flying over the Atlantic Ocean thanks to riding the jet stream.
Jet streams are narrow bands of strong winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere that follow the boundary between hot and cold air, according to the National Weather Service. Since these boundaries are more pronounced during the winter months, the jet stream is stronger during the winter.
But the jet stream is turning from a flying oddity to fueling a dangerous bomb cyclone that is rapidly developing across the Atlantic, becoming what the UK Met Office has dubbed Storm Ciaran. The storm is still on its way to impact northern Europe until Thursday.
What makes the wind howl?
“It is this jet stream coming out of North America that will pick up Storm Ciaran and intensify it,” Alex Deakin of the UK Met Office said in a weather brief published on X. “The storm system crosses the jet stream, and that's when it really strengthens.”
Ciaran had already begun to strengthen on Wednesday morning, as the storm's central pressure dropped by 17 millibars in 12 hours. Computer forecast models show the storm “strengthening” from about 989 millibars early Wednesday morning to about 952 millibars by early Thursday morning as it approaches Ireland and the United Kingdom — within the criteria of a “bomb cyclone,” a pressure drop of about… Less than 24 millibars within 24 hours.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has already announced reduced runway capacity due to severe weather on Thursday and Friday. KLM has begun canceling inbound and outbound flights.
With the center of the storm expected to move along the English Channel and southern England late Wednesday into Thursday, high wind warnings are in effect across the southern coasts of England, the northern regions of France and the west coast of Wales. Wind speeds are expected to reach 80 to 100 mph along the northern coasts of France, 70 to 85 mph along the English Channel and about 65 to 75 mph inland in southwest England and northern France.
“The very strong northwesterly winds associated with Storm Ciaran could disrupt travel and facilities and may cause some structural damage,” the UK Met Office warned in its wind warnings.
Pointe Saint-Mathieu in northwest France recorded wind speeds of 91 mph as the monster storm approached. The wind has already created great waves in France.
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Surfers ride the waves in Grande Plage before Storm Ciaran hits the area, in Biarritz, southwest France, on November 1, 2023. (Jaizka Eroz/AFP/Getty Images)
In addition, heavy rain is expected across the southern UK, Ireland and northern France, leading to fears of flash flooding and rough waves with high waves expected on the coasts of France.
Ciaran will be a slow-moving storm with impacts lasting through Thursday, followed by calm winds and rain, although unstable conditions will remain through the weekend.
Previous storm hits Northern Ireland
For some parts of the UK, Ciaran is not a restful place for the weary. Another powerful storm hit Northern Ireland earlier in the week, bringing heavy rain and flooding the city of Newry.
Watch: Drone video of flooding in Northern Ireland before Storm Ciaran
NEWRY, Northern Ireland sits underwater as drone video shows widespread flooding ahead of Storm Ciaran.
From Monday evening until Wednesday afternoon, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue received 384 emergency calls.
Crews rescued five people wading through the water, 31 people trapped in vehicles, and evacuated 12 others from their homes before Storm Ciarán.
