By AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jan. 31, 2022 12:27 PM EST | Updated Jan. 31, 2022 12:27 PM EST
Two potent windstorms slammed northern Europe over the past weekend, unleashing widespread wind damage and power cuts, triggering flooding and leaving at least four people dead.
The first of these two windstorms was Storm Malik, which slammed into northern portions of Europe to begin the weekend.
"The worst impacts from Storm Malik occurred from Friday to Sunday, with portions of the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Baltic States recording some of the most extreme damage," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
A person walks along the water's edge in Malmo, Sweden, January 30, 2022. TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson/via REUTERS
Storm Malik was blamed for at least four fatalities across northern Europe, according to The Associated Press (AP). A nine-year old boy in England and a 60-year-old woman in Scotland were killed on Saturday after powerful winds from Malik brought down trees.
Two additional deaths occurred on Saturday. A 78-year-old woman was killed in Denmark after she sustained serious injuries from a fall due to the strong winds, according to the AP. In Germany, a man was killed by flying debris that was knocked loose by roaring winds.
Reports of wind damage across the region were widespread and varied in severity, ranging from blown-over power lines to entire roofs ripped from homes.
Storm Corrie batters Dutch coast in Scheveningen, Netherlands, on January 31, 2022. Photo by Robin Utrecht/ABACAPRESS
Strong winds ripped down power lines from Scotland to Sweden and left thousands of households without power over the weekend.
Wind gusts reached into the 90-mph range for portions of northern Scotland on Saturday, but the strongest wind gust from Storm Malik was recorded on the southwestern coast of Norway early Sunday, where winds topped out at 108 mph (174 km/h), according to Roys.
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In Germany, flooding caused by Malik inundated Hamburg's historic fish market. AFP reported that the storm, known as Nadia in the country, caused the Elbe River to burst its banks. Video from AFP showed buildings and cars partially submerged while several children waded through the water.
With hardly any time for those impacted by Storm Malik to catch their breath or start to recover, Storm Corrie took shape. Corrie began to unleash its wrath late Sunday across the U.K., the Netherlands and Germany, according to Roys.
In Scotland, more than 80,000 homes lost power as a result of Storm Malik on Saturday while another 38,000 lost power on Sunday as a result of the strengthening Storm Corrie, according to the BBC. As of Monday, electrical companies across the country had restored power to thousands of residents, but many still remained in the dark.
The combination of impacts from Storm Malik and Storm Corrie also led to rail disruptions across portions of Scotland, as storm debris littered the tracks.
As Storm Corrie continued to strengthen early Monday, strong winds tore across the North Sea and stirred up very rough seas for ships attempting to sail the area.
A storm sweeping over the Netherlands sent a tree crashing down on the roof and windshield of a car in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The seas were so rough that two ships anchored off the Dutch North Sea coast slammed into each other on Monday, leaving one ship severely damaged and more than a dozen crew members in need of rescue, according to the AP.
Rescue helicopters were dispatched on Monday to retrieve the 18 crew members of a freighter called the Julietta D after the vessel began taking on water following the collision 20 miles (32 km) away from port.
All 18 crew members were rescued safely even as Storm Corrie raged on, according to the Dutch coast guard.
Storm Corrie will continue its trek inland across portions of central Europe and is forecast to reach the Balkans by midweek, according to Roys. Areas in the path of the potent storm will continue to experience strong, potentially damaging winds through that time.
For the hardest-hit portions of the U.K., forecasters say Mother Nature may offer an olive branch in the form of a brief respite from adverse weather.
"It is going to be breezy the next few days across the region, with showers across the western U.K.," Roys said. "However, a gusty cold front may bring winds up to 50 mph (80 km/h) on Thursday to Northern Ireland, northern England and Scotland."
The same front is expected to bring more wet weather back to Wales, the Midlands and southern England by Thursday evening, according to Roys.
For many, especially those located in the hardest-hit across the United Kingdom, the impact of the two windstorms may call to mind memories of Storm Arwen, which tore through the region in November. At the time, Storm Arwen was dubbed the worst U.K. storm in decades due to the amount of devastation it left behind.
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