Storm Hannah (2019) (Blackford)

Storm Hannah, also called Windstorm Hannah or in New England the Great Nor-Easter of March 2019 was one of the, if not the most intense, windstorms ever to strike Norway, it was also the longest tracked and longest lived windstorm on record, it formed on March 4 over The Bahamas as a strong storm system, before it organized into a Nor-Easter on March 6, causing significant impacts along the East Coast of the United States from March 7-10.

The storm inflicted roughly $70 million in damages, with $10 million in damages being inflicted in the United States, $10 million in Norway, $20 million in Ireland and $30 million in Scotland.

The storm was a Category 4 European windstorm, as well as a Category 5 "Extreme" Nor-Easter.

Meteorological history
On February 28, the Weather Prediction Center began monitoring the possibility of a strong storm system organizing in-between the US Virgin Islands and The Bahamas during early March.

They mentioned the possibility of it becoming a Nor-Easter and tracking along the US East Coast.

By March 4, the system had formed over The Bahamas as a weak storm system, however on March 6, the storm began to move up the East Coast and became a Category 1 "Weak" Nor-Easter east of North Carolina.

At Charlotte, NC, the city saw the most snow it had seen to date in the month of March, seeing 22.63 inches (making it a Category 3 "Severe" in the Regional Snowfall Index).

The system further intensified into a Category 2 "Moderate" Nor-Easter early on March 7 off the coast of New Jersey, and moved on land on March 8 as a Category 3 "Severe" Nor-Easter. It did not weaken, becoming a Category 4 "Historic" Nor-Easter on March 9 off the coast of Maine, and early on March 10, as the system transitioned into a subtropical disturbance, it became a Category 5 "Extreme" Nor-Easter, shortly before striking Nova Scotia. It produced upwards of 5-6 feet of snow in spots in Nova Scotia before it moved offshore.

The storm weakened to a Category 4 Nor-Easter on March 11, and the National Hurricane Center began closely watching the Nor-Easter for the possibility of organizing into a subtropical depression or storm over the far northern Atlantic.

By March 12, the storm further weakened to a Category 3 Nor-Easter over open waters, and it was no longer classified as a Nor-Easter by March 13. The storm rapidly accelerated east-northeastward on March 13 at near unprecedented speeds of upwards of 95 mph.

By early March 14, the storm was close to becoming a huge subtropical depression when it exited the NHC's area of responsibility and entered the Met Office's area of responsibility, it slowed down that afternoon and it became Windstorm Hannah that evening.

The storm gained a classic windstorm structure into early March 15, and became a Category 1 European windstorm that afternoon, with winds as high as 65 mph possible.

The storm further strengthened on March 16 into a Category 2 European windstorm with winds as high as 80 mph.

Early on March 17, the storm became a Category 3 European windstorm before impacting Ireland. The storm held it's intensity well, severely impacting the county of Mayo, with roughly $10 million in damages being inflicting in that county alone.

The storm became a Category 2 European windstorm that evening, before moving into Northern Ireland on March 18. The storm then struck Scotland early on March 19 as a Category 2 windstorm.

The storm severely impacted northern England and Scotland, with roughly $5 million in damages being inflicted in Edinburgh by wind gusts of as high as 100 mph, and average winds of 85 mph.

The storm weakened to a Category 1 windstorm on March 20 just south of Edinburgh and became a normal windstorm later that afternoon.

The storm once again became a Category 1 windstorm on March 21 before it very rapidly intensified into a borderline Category 5 windstorm by March 22. The storm struck Norway at peak intensity that afternoon, and kept it's intensity rather well.

The storm thankfully enough kept it's severe winds away from heavily populated areas, with roughly $6 million of the 10 mil in damages inflicted being to trees.

The storm began to lose organization on March 23, and by March 25 the system had diminished.

Retirement
Due to the significant damage in Ireland, Scotland and Norway caused by Hannah, the Met Office chose to retire the windstorm's name, making it the first retired windstorm name. The name Hannah will never again be used for a windstorm. No replacement has been found as of yet.