The extraordinary windstorm of 7 December 1868 in the Czech Lands and its central European context

Abstract

ABSTRACTAn extreme windstorm that took place on 7 December 1868 in the Czech Lands is analysed by means of rich documentary evidence from narrative sources, damage records, forestry journals and newspapers. Early meteorological measurements and a numerical atmospheric reanalysis support the documentary reconstruction. The windstorm reached hurricane‐force over the Czech Lands between 0900 and 1600 of local mean time and was related to the passage of a cold front. The high winds, achieving hurricane‐force, led to loss of human lives and many other casualties, as well as to severe damage to buildings and other structures. In particular, the documentary sources facilitate a quantitative reconstruction of the massive windthrow that occurred in forested areas across the Czech Lands, where the windstorm damaged at least 8 million m3 of timber, which is arguably more than has been lost to any single similar event since. Reasons for the extreme windthrow, apart from wind forces and destabilization arising from wet and thawed soils, were found in increased vulnerability arising out of old, dense and mono‐species conifer stands and inadequate clear‐cutting and thinning measures. For the Czech Lands, this event was the most damaging windstorm in the 19th century. Moreover, damage reports are found from the British Isles, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany to Austria, the Czech Lands and Poland, documenting its disastrous effects on a (sub‐)continental scale.