Friedhelm downgraded
Based on OPC surface analysis and Met Office shipping forecasts, Friedhelm only peaked at 957 mbar, which makes it only a Category 4 windstorm.
03R becomes a Windstorm
A deep low pressure area, designated 03R by the European Windstorms Wiki, has been upgraded to a European windstorm today. The storm will still be known as 03R, and also setting a record. Since 03R became a Category 5, this means eight windstorms have intensified into Category 5 status. Lukas, Paolini, Tim, Volker, Odysseus, 03R, Xaver and Arno have all reached peak intensities at 955 mb or below.
2011 European windstorm season
As of the 28th November 2011, only 104 windstorms have formed. This would make 2011 the least active windstorm season since records began in 1999. In April, only seven windstorms formed, making it the least active April. The reason for this below-average activity is La Nina. This phenomenon makes warmer waters in the Atlantic, but cold waters are needed for European windstorm development.
Two tropical cyclones discovered
Two previously unnoticed tropical (or subtropical) cyclones have been found during the 2003 windstorm re-analysis. The first storm, named Xander by FU-Berlin, had a central pressure of 1005 mb and winds of 45 mph. It formed on November 27, 2003 and became tropical on November 29 and December 1. It eventually dissipated on December 2. Xander was in the Mediterranean Sea for the whole of its existance.
Another storm, just days after Xander, formed in the Bay of Biscay on December 1. It moved towards England, but turned back south and became a tropical cyclone. The FU-Berlin named the storm Zam. Zam was a tropical cyclone for a reletively short period. This cyclone was also rare because it formed in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean in December…