Cyclone Klaus
Klaus was a European windstorm or cyclone which made landfall over large parts of central and southern France, Spain and parts of Italy in January 2009. The storm was the most damaging since Lothar and Martin in December 1999. The storm caused widespread damage across France and Spain, especially in northern Spain.
The storm caused twenty-six fatalities, as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies, with approximately 1.7 million homes in southwest France and tens of thousands of homes in Spain experiencing power cuts. Severe damage to property and major forest damage was caused. Peak gusts were over 200 km/h; sustained winds of over 170 km/h (110 mph) were observed, which are hurricane-force winds.
Profile
The storm made landfall near Bordeaux, France, at 5:00 am Central European Time on Saturday, 24 January. It traveled southeastwards towards the south-east coast of France throughout Saturday morning, finally reaching there at 1:00 pm. It continued eastwards over Italy, but without causing significant damage. Low pressure systems are regarded as fairly common in Europe at that time of year. Some reports called it the storm of the decade; BBC meteorologist Alex Deakin said, "Saturday's storm is being described as the most damaging since that of December 1999 which killed 88 people."
