Greetings Tom,
Has a hurricane ever crossed the Atlantic and landed in Europe?
Martin Mockenhaupt,
Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Dear Martin,
Occasionally, the remnants of hurricanes lose their tropical features as they traverse the north Atlantic and slam into northwest Europe, where they are known as “tempests”. Most storms bring squally weather with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Sometimes they wreak havoc: in 1996 remains of Hurricane Lili hit Britain with 90 m.p.h. winds, while in 1998 the worst storm in over a century raked the Netherlands and Belgium. These tempests normally occur late in the hurricane season. The current Hurricane Karl may ultimately reach Europe.
A similar scenario occurs in the Pacific former typhoons trek eastward at high latitudes and slash the northwest U.S./southwest Canada.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
