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6. THE MOST DANGEROUS STORM SURGES IN 1976-2000 
According to the criteria defined in the preceding chapters, 73 of the flood events in 1976- 
2000 qualified as storm surges. The meteorological conditions and sea level variations 
during the most dangerous 17 events have been analysed and described in the following. 
6.1 January 1976 
Meteorological situation 
On 2 January, 1976, the Baltic Sea was under the influence of a high-pressure ridge over 
western Europe. Westerly winds, which were locally moderate to strong, prevailed along the 
southern coast. When an active depression, which deepened rapidly on its way east, crossed 
Scotland between 15 and 21 UTC that day, winds over the western and southern Baltic Sea 
backed southeast and gradually reached gale force. Soon after the depression (966 hPa at 
its centre) had approached Denmark at about 00 UTC on 3 January, the southeasterly storm 
increased to 9 Bft over the Danish Sounds and 7-8 Bft over the western Baltic Sea. As the 
depression progressed east between 03 and 15 UTC, its abnormally elongated “eye” 
stretched from Denmark to the Gulf of Gdansk, tending to form small secondary centres 
along the occluded front running parallel to the southern coast, which produced a line of 
sharp wind shear. South of this line, over the southern basins of the western Baltic Sea, the 
westerly storm spread eastwards (7-8 and 9 Bft). At about 15 UTC, the southern coastal 
waters were fully under the impact of this storm. North of the wind shear line (occluded front) 
and closer to the Swedish coast, the storm of 8-9 Bft came from easterly directions, backing 
northeast and northwest over the Kattegat and Danish Sounds (Fig. 6.1.1.). 
Late on 3 January, the depression, while filling, moved slowly southeastward across Poland. 
Consequently, the entire western and southern Baltic Sea came under the northeasterly to 
northerly storm of 7-9 Bft, which backed and decreased slightly until the late hours of 4 
January. On 5 January at midnight, winds were already backing southwest and south in the 
western Baltic Sea when another low-pressure trough with gale-force winds approached from 
the Norwegian Sea. 
Fig. 6.1.1. Route of the stormy low-pressure centre, pressure pattern over the southern Baltic 
Sea on 2 January 1976 at 06 UTC