page_title: Hurricane Bertha (2014)
section_title: Western Europe
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Bertha (2014) / Preparations and impact / Western Europe
caption_attribution_description: English: Post-tropical Cyclone Bertha over the North Sea on 11 August 2014.
context_page_description: Hurricane Bertha was an unusual tropical cyclone in early August 2014 that attained minimal hurricane status, despite having a disheveled appearance and a relatively high atmospheric pressure. On July 26, a tropical wave south of the Cape Verde Islands was monitored for possible tropical cyclogenesis. Over the following days, it slowly developed and acquired gale-force winds and enough convection to be designated as Tropical Storm Bertha early on August 1. A mostly disorganized cyclone, Bertha quickly moved across the Lesser Antilles, clipping the northern end of Martinique, later that day. During its trek across the eastern Caribbean Sea, its circulation became severely disrupted and it may have degenerated into a tropical wave. On August 3, it traversed the Mona Passage and moved over the Southeastern Bahamas where conditions favored development. Despite an overall ragged appearance on satellite imagery, data from Hurricane Hunters indicated it intensified to a hurricane on August 4; it acquired peak winds of 80 mph that day. Turning north, and later northeast, Bertha soon weakened as it began to merge with an approaching trough to the west.
context_section_description: Heavy rains from the remnant of Bertha caused widespread flooding across the United Kingdom. Flood warnings were issued for 6 regions across the nation while alerts were raised for a further 47 areas during the storm's passage. In London, a water main burst and inundated surrounding streets. Thirty shops were affected and nearby stations of the London Underground were swamped. The Prudential RideLondon race was shortened by 14 mi (23 km) due to the storm. The River Dee rose to its highest level since 1990 and flooded surrounding areas. Footbridges and paths along its banks were washed away, though no structures were affected. Lossiemouth, Scotland, received a month's worth of rain in roughly 12 hours. Flooding in Elgin prompted the evacuation of 200 homes. Numerous roads were washed out across Scotland and First ScotRail reported widespread service disruption. High winds and flooding also damaged crops across the region, namely in Scotland. A Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition team from 1st Raffrey Boys' Brigade were forced to airlift a crew member to safety after sustaining injuries caused by severe weather conditions in the Mournes. The team of five, part of a larger group of thirty, required the assistance of a helicopter from Dublin to save the fallen traveller and winched him to safety. Although scarred, the team went on to complete the expedition in record time.
  Offshore, a man suffered a fatal head injury on his yacht amid rough seas and high winds. The Solent Coastguards flew out to rescue the man, but he was declared dead on the scene. Twenty vessels competing in the 2014 EXE Sails GP14 World Championships were caught in high winds produced by the storm and capsized in the Strangford Lough. A nearby hospital declared a major incident and the coast guard rushed to rescue the 97 sailors stranded in the water. Only one person suffered injuries, but all were treated for hypothermia.
  The outer bands of Bertha's remnants produced a prolonged period of severe weather over mainland Europe, extending from France to Sweden. In southwest Germany, gusts reached 75 mph (120 km/h). On August 10, a small tornado outbreak occurred with touchdowns taking place in Belgium, France, and Germany. The strongest of these, rated F2 on the Fujita Scale, affected Bad Schwalbach, Germany; 50 homes were damaged in the area and a swath of forest was heavily damaged. An F1 tornado struck an outdoor event in Luxembourg, Belgium, resulting in four serious injuries. Additionally, an EF1 storm traveled for 25 mi (41 km) through the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Another tornado, rated F0, touched down in Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom, on the same day.
  Alerts were raised across Norway for the potential of flooding and damaging winds.
caption: The extratropical remnant of Bertha over the North Sea, on August 11
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