In October and November 2023, large portions of the European coasts, including the Atlantic coast, the English Channel, the North Sea, the Mediterranean (especially the Adriatic) and the entire Black Sea region were severely affected by destructive storms caused by the passage of a series of extratropical cyclones. The most severe storms were Storm Ciarán, which hit the European Atlantic coasts between late October and early November 2023, and a series of storms that hit the Black Sea coast on 25-28 November 2023. Torrential rain and winds of up to 55 m/s caused 21 deaths and dozens of injuries during Storm Ciarán. Extreme weather phenomena on the Black Sea included wind gusts of more than 30 m/s, storm surges that inundated low-laying coastal areas, blizzards, heavy snowfall and glaze, sea-surface swell with waves of more than 5 meters. In Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and other Black Sea countries, there were an estimated 26 deaths and around 94 injuries. The storm also affected several Greek islands. Power outages affected approximately 2 million consumers and severe damage has been done to port facilities, cars and railways. The coastal infrastructure and specific beaches were strongly damaged and partly destroyed. The tide gauges on the Adriatic recorded an unprecedented series of floods, with the Bakar tide gauge recording 4 extreme flooding events within 10 days.
Following these events, Pure and Applied Geophysics (PAGEOPH) opens a Topical Collection "The destructive October-November 2023 storms in Europe" and invites oceanographers, meteorologists, coastal engineers, marine geologists and geomorphologists to submit their papers. These papers will be published in regular PAGEOPH issues (this is a "Topical collection", not "topical issue"), but they will be processed and published with the maximum speed.