Guernsey 'just missed' the worst – Met Office

Islanders were still clearing up yesterday, with some roads still closed. But most schools and shops reopened, and the first planes landed just before 10am.

‘It would appear the worst of the weather just went south of the Bailiwick in a line from Jersey to Brest,’ said Peter De La Mare, senior officer at the Met Office,

‘When Ciaran came north the winds had already blown themselves out to a degree.’

He said that the general forecast had been correct and these were micro changes in direction.

‘The forecast was for storm force 11 and wind speeds in excess of 90 knots and that is exactly what occurred in Jersey. The Bailiwick just missed out on the severest of the winds. We were lucky.’

Jersey, just 11 miles further south, was pummelled by winds in excess of 100mph and, that led to widespread damage with 40 people being evacuated from their homes and three people in hospital.

In France winds of 118mph hit the coast, leading to seven deaths and hundreds of damaged homes. Half of Brittany was still without power yesterday morning.

States chief operating officer Jason Moriarty, who led the government response, admitted to being a relieved man.

‘It was a case of planning for the worst and hoping for the best,’ he said.

‘Ultimately you just have to wait and react to what you are dealt. Our sympathies are with Jersey and what they experienced.

‘If the impact of the storm had been greater then conditions here would have been a lot, lot worse. We are now in recovery and thankful we will be able to return to business as usual.’

He added he was very grateful for the combined effort of the emergency services, States departments and utilities, but also especially those who were on the front line.

‘I also want to thank the community of Guernsey,’ he said.

‘Our response could only ever be as strong as the community who supported us.’

While unofficial reports had Alderney, 13 miles further north than Guernsey, facing higher wind speed, Mr De La Mare said official speeds there were actually lower, only reaching 74mph, compared to 77mph in Guernsey.

‘The reports of 100mph winds in Alderney came from non-Met Office instruments,’ he said.

‘So it is hard for us to comment on them as we don’t know how accurate they are.’

The forecast for Storm Ciaran included a rare red warning of tidal flooding for the west coast on Thursday morning, but waves failed to top the causeway at Fort Grey and caused none of the damage seen during Storm Babet only a fortnight ago, which coincided with spring tides.

‘The westerly winds which were forecast were there,’ Mr De La Mare said.

‘But without the excessive wind speed we thankfully didn’t see the swell and storm surge to take the 8m plus tide really high.’