Articles | Volume 26, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2051-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2051-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The relationships between extreme winter North Atlantic extratropical cyclone hazards and modes of seasonal climate variability
Amanda C. Maycock
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Christine M. McKenna
Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
JBA Consulting, Warrington, UK
Matthew D. K. Priestley
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Jacob Perez
Centre for Doctoral Training in Fluid Dynamics, School of Computing, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Julia F. Lockwood
Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK
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William J. Dow, Amanda C. Maycock, Andrew N. Ross, Ryan S. Williams, and Thomas J. Bracegirdle
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William J. Dow, Christine M. McKenna, Manoj M. Joshi, Adam T. Blaker, Richard Rigby, and Amanda C. Maycock
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Tamzin E. Palmer, Carol F. McSweeney, Ben B. B. Booth, Matthew D. K. Priestley, Paolo Davini, Lukas Brunner, Leonard Borchert, and Matthew B. Menary
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Julia F. Lockwood, Galina S. Guentchev, Alexander Alabaster, Simon J. Brown, Erika J. Palin, Malcolm J. Roberts, and Hazel E. Thornton
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3585–3606, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3585-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3585-2022, 2022
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We describe how we developed a set of 1300 years' worth of European winter windstorm footprints, using a multi-model ensemble of high-resolution global climate models, for use by the insurance industry to analyse windstorm risk. The large amount of data greatly reduces uncertainty on risk estimates compared to using shorter observational data sets and also allows the relationship between windstorm risk and predictable large-scale climate indices to be quantified.
Matthew D. K. Priestley and Jennifer L. Catto
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 337–360, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-337-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-337-2022, 2022
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We use the newest set of climate model experiments from CMIP6 to investigate changes to mid-latitude storm tracks and cyclones from global warming. The overall number of cyclones will decrease. However in winter there will be more of the most intense cyclones, and these intense cyclones are likely to be stronger. Cyclone wind speeds will increase in winter, and as a result the area of strongest wind speeds will increase. By 2100 the area of strong wind speeds may increase by over 30 %.
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Short summary
Winter North Atlantic storms cause significant financial losses and damage in Europe. This study shows that modes of seasonal large-scale climate variability called the North Atlantic Oscillation and East Atlantic Pattern modulate the exposure to cyclone related extreme wind, precipitation and storm surge hazards across many parts of Europe. The results have the potential to be combined with skilful seasonal climate forecasts of climate modes to inform the insurance sector.
Winter North Atlantic storms cause significant financial losses and damage in Europe. This study...
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