Hurricane Bawbag
Hurricane Bawbag striking the British Isles
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| Type | European windstorm, extratropical cyclone |
|---|---|
| Formed | 7 December 2011 |
| Dissipated | 13 December 2011 |
| Lowest pressure | 956 mb (28.2 inHg) |
| Highest winds |
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| Highest gust | 165 mph (265 km/h) at Cairngorm Summit |
| Areas affected | British Isles, Scandinavia |
Hurricane Bawbag was an intense extratropical cyclone, also known by the name Friedhelm, which brought hurricane-force winds to Scotland at the beginning of December 2011. The storm also brought prolonged gales and rough seas to the rest of the British Isles, as well as parts of Scandinavia. On 8 December, winds reached up to 165 mph (265 km/h) at elevated areas, with sustained wind speeds of up to 80 mph (135 km/h) reported across populous areas. The winds uprooted trees and resulted in the closure of many roads, bridges, schools and businesses. Overall, the storm was the worst to affect Scotland in 10 years, though a stronger storm occurred less than a month afterwards, on 3 January 2012. Although the follow-up storm was more intense, the winter of 2011/12 is usually remembered for Bawbag among Scots.
The Free University of Berlin names low-pressure systems affecting Europe and gave the name Friedhelm to this storm. In Scotland, the storm was dubbed Hurricane Bawbag, the term being a Scots word for “scrotum”, which is also slang for a coward or to describe a weak person.
The name sparked a trending topic on Twitter, which became one of the top trending hashtags worldwide.Stirling Council also used the Twitter tag.Rob Gibson, the Convener of the Scottish Parliamentary Environment Committee, was the first politician to use the term on national television.
At 0000 UTC on 8 December 2011, the Met Office noted a strong mid-latitude cyclone along the polar front to the west of Scotland. The polar front supported multiple cold fronts moving southeastward through the Atlantic toward mainland Europe, as well as an eastward-moving warm front approaching Great Britain. In conjunction with strong high pressure to the south, an extremely tight pressure gradient developed along the deep low and produced a large area of high winds.
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Wikipedia