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One Hundred and One Years of Netherlands' Windstorms
Reference
Cusack, S. 2013. A 101 year record of windstorms in the Netherlands. Climatic Change 116: 693-704.

Background
Climate alarmists contend that extreme weather events, such as windstorms, tend to become more frequent or more intense - or both - when the world warms. But is this really the case?

What was done
In an attempt to answer this question for the Netherlands, Cusack conducted an analysis of storm damage throughout the country based upon near-surface wind speeds measured at five suitably distributed weather stations over the prior 101 years, which he "transformed into storm damage using a model measuring loss impacts upon society."

What was learned
The UK researcher reports that "the Netherlands is currently experiencing the minimum aggregate storm damage of the past 100 years, though only slightly lower than a quiet period of 50 years ago," and he states that "both of these minima are driven primarily by lowered rates of occurrence of damaging storms," particularly during the period of September through December, throughout which storm damage "dropped from a peak in the early 1980s to current values far below the range witnessed in the 20th century."

What it means
Cusack, an affiliate of Risk Management Solutions of London, states that these findings highlight "the importance of storm frequency and the more minor role of storm severity as drivers of total losses."

Reviewed 8 May 2013