Cyclone Ulli

Cyclone Ulli

Ulli situated to the north-east of Scotland
Type	Extratropical cyclone, Ice storm, Winter storm
Formed	December 31, 2011
Dissipated	January 7, 2012
Lowest pressure	952 millibars (28.1 inHg)
Highest gust	107 mph (172 km/h) in IJmuiden, Netherlands
Damage	$306 million (2012 USD)
Areas affected	Eastern Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia

Cyclone Ulli (also named Emil by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute) was an intense and deadly European windstorm. Forming on December 31, 2011 off the coast of New Jersey, Ulli began a rapid strengthening phase on January 2 as it sped across the Atlantic. In the late hours of January 1, Met Éireann issued a national severe weather warning for Connacht and Ulster and forecasters predicting winds speeds up to 87 mph with heavy driving rain. On January 2, the Met Office issued an amber weather warning for most of Scotland for heavy snow and strong winds. Forecasters predicted wind speeds up to 80 mph, and heavy rain, leading to localized flooding. Temperatures were expected to plummet from a record high of 12 °C (54 °F) recorded in southern England on New Year's Eve to 5 °C (41 °F). During the late hours of January 2, the European Storm Forecast Experiment (ESTOFEX) issued a Level Two warning for southeast England, the Netherlands, north Belgium, north Germany and Denmark. Ulli was the costliest disaster in January 2012 globally. The damage from the storm in Glasgow was also compared to a storm in 1968.

Ulli was one of many storms to affect Europe during the winter of 2011-2012. The storm clustering began in late-November when Xaver and Yoda hit the United Kingdom and Norway. In early to mid-December, Friedhelm, Hergen and Joachim hit northern Europe. Another storm, Patrick hit Scandinavia on Christmas Day. Ulli was followed by Andrea which formed the next day and struck northern Europe on 5 January.