Storm Eva (also called Chuck, Staffan and other names) was the fifth named storm of the Met Office and Met Éireann's Name our Storms project. Heavy rainfall from Eva occurred around three weeks after Storm Desmond had brought severe flooding to parts of Northern England, exacerbating the ongoing situation.[6] The low pressure was named Chuck by the Free University of Berlin and Staffan by the Swedish Meteorological Institute.[7][8]

Eva
Storm Eva 23 December
TypeExtratropical cyclone
Duration23–24 December 2015[note 1]
Highest gust84 mph (135 km/h)
(Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland)[3]
Damage≥ £2.0 billion (≥ €2.2 billion) (2015)[4]
Power outages3,000[5]
Areas affectedIreland, United Kingdom

Meteorological history

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Path of Storm Eva
Map key
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
  Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

Forecasts

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Eva was the fifth storm to be officially named by Met Éireann on 22 December 2015. An orange wind warning was issued for counties Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal on the same day. Gales were also expected in the northwest of the United Kingdom, with storm force winds over parts of the Outer Hebrides.[6] There were fears that the storm could cause further disruption to Cumbria in England, where areas were already dealing with the aftermath of flooding from Storm Desmond and in some cases had been flooded twice already.[9] The army and Environment Agency staff were called in to be on stand-by to bolster flood defences.[10]

Impact

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Rain associated with the passage of Eva caused disruption when rivers burst their banks in the Cumbrian towns of Appleby, Keswick and Kendal on the 22 December. Appleby received three to four feet of flood water.[11][12] The village of Glenridding was flooded for the third time in the month.[13] Six thousand houses in Ireland were left without power.[14] In London, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Liz Truss convened a COBRA meeting to decide on emergency measures, which included the deployment of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment[15] to the affected areas.[16][17] On 24 December, flood defence gates were closed in Carlisle, Keswick and Cockermouth to limit the damage expected from rainfall and 20 water pumps and two kilometres (1.2 mi) of temporary flood barriers were transported to northern England.[18] Ferries operating between Dublin and Holyhead were cancelled due to bad weather on the Irish Sea.[citation needed]

Notes

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  1. ^ This is the date it made an impact on the UK and Ireland.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ "UK Storm Centre". Met Office. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Climatology and Observations Division Twitter page". Climatology and Observations Division. Met Éireann. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  3. ^ "#StormEva". Climatology and Observations Division. Met Eiriann. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. ^ http://thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com/Documents/20160106-if-december-global-recap.pdf Archived 2022-04-22 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ "Floods latest: Boxing Day power cuts for thousands in Yorkshire". ITV News.
  6. ^ a b "Storm Eva". Met Office. 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Analysis". Free University of Berlin. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Stormen Staffan har passerat". SMHI. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Storm Eva brings fresh flooding fears for Cumbria". BBC News. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Storm Eva: Cumbrians braced for further flood misery". ITV News. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  11. ^ Perring, Rebecca (24 December 2015). "Army on standby for flooding crisis as shock FIVE INCHES of rain to come with Storm Eva". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Storm Eva brings fresh flooding fears for Cumbria". BBC News. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  13. ^ Glover, Mike (22 December 2015). "Further flooding worsens troubles for Cumbrian towns hit by Storm Desmond". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Over 6,000 without power as Storm Eva hits". RTE.ie. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Flood warnings as Britain is braced for torrential Boxing Day rain". Isle of Man Today. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016. [dead link]
  16. ^ "Storm Eva brings fresh flooding fears for Cumbria". BBC News. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Flooded Cumbrian families are facing further misery on Christmas Day". The Independent. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Storm poses Christmas Day flooding threat for thousands of homes". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 10 January 2016.