Cyclone Berit

Cyclone Xaver (Berit)

Surface weather analysis of Berit on November 25
Type	European windstorm, Extratropical
Formed	22 November 2011
Dissipated	29 November, 2011
Lowest pressure	944 mb (27.9 inHg)
Areas affected	Scotland, Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Russia

Berit (also named Xaver by the Free University of Berlin) was a very strong European windstorm that formed as a tropical wave near the Lesser Antilles in mid-November 2011. The storm began producing heavy rain and snow over Northern Europe on 24 and 25 November. Scotland saw its first snowfall since March, earlier in the year. The Faroe Islands also reported winds up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) and excessive damage. On 25 November, the Norwegian Weather Service named the storm 'Berit'. Another storm, called Yoda, hit Scotland just a day after Xaver. The storm Yoda was widely known as Lille-Berit (Little-Berit) in Scandinavia, as the Norwegian Weather Service did not issue it with an official name.

A low pressure area formed south of the Azores on 21 November, and by the next day, was named Xaver by the Free University of Berlin. On 23 November, the storm passed north-east of the United Kingdom and to the south of the Faroe Islands with a strong central pressure of 980 millibars. Xaver rapidly strengthened during the early hours of 24 November, and had also developed an eye. During the late hours of 25 November, Xaver began weakening as it approached the coast of Norway. It continued to move towards the east-northeast for the next few days, and dissipated over Russia on 29 November.

Massive damages were experienced on the Faroe Islands as they were hit by windspeeds of 114 mph (183 km/h). Police on the islands imposed a curfew. Boats and debris were blown about, with some concern that oil might have leaked from a boat dashed against the rocks. Residents of a nursing home in Trongisvágur were evacuated mid-storm as the roof was blown off.

The storm brought heavy snow over the mountains and large waves to the coastline of Scotland. The UK Met Office issued severe weather warnings for strong winds and heavy rain for the end of November. One woman died after her car got swept into a loch in Harris on 25 November. Twelve Caledonian MacBrayne ferries were cancelled from the Western Isles. Staff members had to move below 2,000 ft on Ben Nevis as gale-force winds forced the gondola lifts to close. Schools were closed on 25 November due to high winds. The Forth, Skye, Tay, Erskine, Friarton and the Clackmannanshire Bridge had speed restrictions on 25 November.