Winter windstorms are among the most dangerous and costly natural hazards in Central Europe. Compared to convective events, the large extent of affected areas makes them particularly relevant in terms of the risks from both an insurance and an economic point of view. In this project we try to improve the analysis of weather patterns and -sequences leading to wind-induced damages for three different types of storm impacts, namely building damages, forestry damages and railway disruption risks as an example for (secondary) damages due to wind throw.

 We are using mechanistic as well as statistical models to examine critical wind speeds and the impact of other metrological factors like precipitation or storm length on storm damage. Furthermore we investigate changes in the intensities and frequencies of these metrological factors and of subsequent damage probabilities in the past as well as in future climate scenarios.

WIND is a subproject within ClimXtreme. It is conducted in collaboration with the research group Forestry Economics and Forest Planning at the University of Freiburg.

Project website: https://climxtreme.net/