Potent Storm Ciarán - Just the start: Damage & millions without power

The big storm affecting western Europe is on the move. There is widespread damage across the northwestern region of France and the storm’s strong rainbands continue to sweep over the English Channel moving out of England onto France. Millions are without power.

With a five-hour difference, ahead of Eastern Time, a big chunk of western Europe is experiencing rough weather conditions this Thursday as the potent storm Ciarán moves through the region. One of the first places hit and now dealing with significant damage is the northwestern region of Brittany in France. So far, at least one person has died after a tree fell on their truck. A wind gust in this region was recorded at 129 mph. Over a million people are without power across northern France.

As the storm moved this morning over the United Kingdom, gusts over 100 mph were recorded. Many meteorologists have been watching this system as it was forecast to intensify, greatly fueled by the jetstream, located in those latitudes, and it happened overnight. Although hurricane categories are dependent on sustained wind speeds, sometimes we, meteorologists, use atmospheric pressure to match it to a category. If we were to do so with Ciarán would be equivalent to a category 3 hurricane, a big one too in size, moving through western Europe.

Residents will be hunkered down in their homes as schools, work, and businesses are closed in England, especially along the south and eastern side, as Ciarán has migrated to the east of the country.

Wind gusts in excess of 80 mph are possible for the southern coastal extremities of England, though gusts of around 100 mph are possible for the Channel Islands. These strong winds will be whipping up large waves, threatening coastal flooding.

The center of the storm will stay in the same general area over east or just east of the U.K. today and tomorrow, whirling and pushing heavy rainbands over France, Spain, and even Italy is on the board for tomorrow. Expect torrential rains and strong winds that could continue to spread damage across the continent.

We will continue to monitor this storm and bring you images and videos of what´s happening in this region of the world. Our weather reporter Jonathan Petramala is on location in northern France and will be moving with the storm to bring you the latest.