Features of the Northwest Situation

If the wind reaches the bay of Wamemiinde from northwest it is particularly strong from this direction. The reason for this is that the path length of the northwest wind is particularly long over the open, for example, friction-poor water between Flensburg and Rostock, and the cone-shaped Fehmernbelt even strengthens the wind. This very specific and exceptionally strong wind from northwest is also referred to as the Wamemiinder wind (Kleinbauer, 1978 Tiesel, 1990). 

Because of this very strong Wamemiinder wind, a very rapid and strong backwater occurs at the Rostocker Baltic Sea coast and in the delta of the Wamow river, that is, the Baltic Sea storm surge. That was, for example, the case on November 3/4,1995, when the storm surge of a heavy autumn gale caused heavy damage in Wamemiinde (Fig. 4.13). 

FIGURE 4.12 Northwest storm, gale Pia on November 18, 2004 ( British Crown copyright 2004, the Met Office, with permission). 

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