Gale of January 1976

"Capella" storm

Capella storm January 1976 approaching Ireland
Type	European windstorm, extratropical, extratropical storm surge
Formed	1 January 1976
Dissipated	5 January 1976
Highest gust	116 kn (215 km/h; 133 mph) Lowther Hills, Strathclyde Scotland[1]
Lowest pressure	962 hPa (28.4 inHg)[2]
Fatalities	82[3]-100[4]
Areas affected	Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Denmark, West Germany, East Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia
Surgewatch.org UK coastal flooding severity, Medium 3/6[5]

The Gale of January 1976, widely known as the "Capella" storm in Germany and the Ruisbroek flood in Belgium, was one in a series of extratropical cyclones and storm surges, which occurred over January 1976. The gale of 2–5 January 1976 resulted in severe wind damage across western and central Europe and coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts. At the time, this was the most severe storm of the century over the British Isles.^[6] Total fatalities reached 82 across Europe, although a figure of 100 is given by the World Meteorological Organization.^[4] Of these 24 were reported in Britain and 4 in Ireland.^[7] Overall losses of US$1.3 billion were incurred, with insured losses standing at US$500 million (1976).^[3]