Ciarán Slams Europe

A powerful bomb cyclone named Ciarán pummeled parts of France and the UK this week, bringing heavy rains and hurricane-force winds to the area. Ciarán's intensity was likened to that of a Category 3 hurricane.

The second-highest level alert was issued in the UK for parts of southern England, Scotland, and Wales. Record-breaking winds, exceeding 102 miles per hour in the Channel Island of Jersey, battered the region alongside heavy rainfall and large waves, some up to 50 feet high. In France, the town of Brittany experienced wind gusts of up to 129 mph, resulting in at least six people dead and leaving 1.2 million homes without power.

The storm is the UK's third named storm in the winter storm season, which starts in early September. A mass of cold air from the eastern US met warm air in the Atlantic, resulting in an extratropical cyclone (see how here). The cyclone's pressure then dropped 24 millibars in 24 hours—or a bomb cyclone—as it moved over the country, reaching a record low of 953.3 millibars and setting a November record for the lowest atmospheric pressure measured in England.

See photos of the damage here.