Severe weather: Beware, gale-force winds over the North and Baltic Seas!
Pascal Schürmann
· 22.02.2024
The German Weather Service (DWD) is warning of increasing strong winds during the course of today. This will be accompanied by gale-force winds, which could even reach hurricane force in the afternoon inland in exposed locations such as on the Brocken.
On the coast, however, the situation will only intensify on Friday night. Winds coming from the south-west will intensify, gusting to 75 to 95 km/h (9 to 10 Beaufort) over land and to 120 km/h (12 Beaufort) on the North Sea and in the north of Schleswig-Holstein. Extreme gales of around 150 km/h are even feared for the Brocken in the Harz Mountains. This will be accompanied by continuous rain in some areas.
The cause is an extensive area of low pressure, the centre of which is currently located near Iceland. At the edge of this area, low pressure systems are repeatedly reaching Germany, bringing in mild Atlantic air. According to the DWD forecast, a marginal low over southern England, which is heading towards the Oslo Fjord, will then bring gale-force winds to the north-west during the night.
How the storm will pass over the German coasts
They are expected to start after midnight and initially hit the East Frisian Islands. From around two o'clock in the morning, they will then move over the North Frisian Islands and the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark. On their further path towards the Baltic Sea, they will weaken somewhat over land, so that the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein and the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will probably be less severely affected. Only over the Danish South Sea, the Kattegat and Skagerrak will the gusts briefly reach hurricane force again.
There is at least one piece of good news: the spookiness is not expected to last long. The DWD expects the wind to drop rapidly from the west in the second half of the night. By early Friday morning, the storm should calm down again over the western Baltic Sea.
The current forecast for the night of the storm
The forecast of the marine weather report, valid until Friday morning, is currently for the south-western North Sea: south to south-west around 5, north-west turning 8, later south-west around 6, temporary gale-force gusts, occasionally hazy, occasional thunderstorms, sea 2.5 metres at times.
The forecast for the Kattegat, Belte and Sund as well as the western Baltic Sea is: south to southeast around 5, later southwest around 8, occasionally hazy, later gale-force gusts or in the Kattegat also gale-force gusts in places, seas later 2.0 to 2.5 metres.
How owners should prepare their ships for the storm
In view of this forecast, boat owners whose boats are in the water or in open storage on land should definitely take precautions. For example, check the mooring lines and double them if necessary, and remove spray hoods and furling sails - if attached. If you have pulled a tarpaulin over the boat or covered it with a winter storage tarpaulin, it is best to remove it for the duration of the storm in order to reduce the wind's attack surface. At the very least, however, any tarpaulins should be checked to ensure they are secure.
Incidentally, every owner is obliged to do everything in his power to protect his ship from damage. Otherwise, they may risk jeopardising their insurance cover, the keyword being obligations.
If you are unable to look after the boat yourself, you may be able to find someone else to do so, such as an acquaintance, club mate, mooring neighbour or even the harbour master or storage operator. Incidentally, the latter are not obliged to look after inadequately secured boats.
