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 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 51 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconstruction of Storm Frequency in the North Sea Area of the Pre-

industrial Period, 1400-1625 and the Connection with Reconstructed Time 

Series of Temperatures 
 

Dr. Adriaan M.J. de Kraker 
 

Institute for Geo- and Bioarchaeology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

e-mail: Krakeram@Zeelandnet.nl 

 

 

Introduction 

 

This paper shows how the reconstructed time series of storm frequency of the polder area 

west of Antwerp is extended back in time as early as 1400. It also shows how this time series1 is 

verified by giving it a wider reach, including the entire Belgian and Zeeland Flanders coast. This 

area is of specific interest for the study of storminess, because it is very vulnerable to northern 

and western storms and gales, and apart from that tides rise higher in this southern part of the 

North Sea, especially in the estuary of the Westerschelde. Knowledge of storm frequency 

throughout the period 1400-1625 is of interest in order to understand the forcing of the North 

Atlantic Oscillation which very strongly affects weather patterns in Western and Central Europe. 

At the same time a reconstruction of storm frequency over a longer period enables us to have an 

insight in weather extremes then and how this weather pattern compares to our present climate. 

Although there is a connection between the variability of storminess and rainfall in specific 

areas, no reconstructed time series of rainfall of that period are available yet. Only several time 

series of temperature reconstruction enable us to find connections with our reconstructed time 

series of storm frequency. 

In order to have high quality data that is representative for both a long period and a wider 

area, mainly written sources have been studied that deal with the impact of stormy weather. First 

these specific sources will be discussed within their historical context, then the kinds of proxy 

data they yield will be dealt with and after that the method that was initially developed will be 

explained. Finally, the main results will be highlighted and recommendations for future research 

will be made. 

 

Data and their historical background 

 

For the period 1400-1625 no instrumental weather data exists. In The Netherlands2 

instrumental measuring started in the early 18
th

 century and in Belgium later.3 This leaves us 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 52 
 

 
with only written sources that give either direct or indirect information about weather events, a 

kind of information that is called proxy data.4 

Using proxy data from written sources to reconstruct climates of the past only makes 

sense if they meet three quality demands. Time series of proxy data need to be long, continuous 

and uniform.5 In order to have knowledge of long term climate variability and to have a useful 

comparison with the present day climate, time series of at least half a century are needed. The 

kinds of series of written sources that are studied here start about 1400 and continue far into the 

17
th

 century. Secondly, the proxy data they provide is continuous for most of that period. 

Because several parallel time series of storm data have been studied, quality control of our data 

has been carried out and small gaps could be filled in order to have complete weather 

information of storms and high tides for the entire period. Thirdly, written sources need to give 

the same weather signal throughout the period in the same way. This implies for instance that 

storm events need to be observed and registered in the same way and at the same location. 

Sometimes time series give high quality climate signals, but after some decades a change in the 

way  events and expenses were administered may render the written source useless for further 

climate research. In such cases this gap in the quality could be solved by using substitute written 

sources. 

The written sources used have been carefully selected from a region in the south eastern 

North Sea. The area consists of the 65 km long Belgian coastal strip and the Zeeland-Flanders 

polders as far as Antwerp. This area is located at 51º 05´ - 51º 25´ N and  at 3º 00´ -  4º 15´ E and 

it is a flat landscape which makes it very vulnerable to storms and gales. North westerlies blow 

perpendicular to the coast and tides rise higher during these events. Moreover in the 

Westerschelde estuary tides are funnelled and during storms and gales this results in dangerously 

higher water levels in easterly direction. This makes the south eastern part of the North Sea a 

perfect location to reconstruct the impact of high tides and storms in the present and during the 

past (Figs. 1 and 2.) 

 
 

 
 

Fig. 1. Southern part of the North Sea and the Belgian coastal area. 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 53 
 

 

 
 
Fig. 2. Study area and its coastal towns with Biervliet and Zeeland Flanders in the Westerschelde estuary. (From 

Google Earth). 

 

The kinds of sources that give information about storms and high tides of the past are the 

annual accounts of coastal towns and series of accounts of dyke and dune maintenance. Town 

accounts give special information about the maintenance of quays and wharfs and all kinds of 

public buildings that are vulnerable to storm events. The accounts contain information about 

storm and high tide events that have had a damaging impact which ranges from an indirect 

mentioning of damage to a precise storm date, the amount of damage it caused and its 

geographical reach. Consequently the same vicious storms and gales are not only mentioned in 

each time series of town accounts, they also occur in the dyke accounts. 
 

Table 1. Time series of town accounts, 1400-1625. High quality town accounts in bold and marked with * partly 

studied. 

 

Name characteristics  climate 
Biervliet seaport town (fisheries and salt) storms 
Blankenberge* village on dune coast (fisheries) storms 
Bruges international market town storms 
Damme small commercial town storms 
Diksmuiden small town behind the dunes storms 
Veurne small town behind the dunes storms 
Monnikerede small town on the Damme canal storms 
St.-Anna-ter-Muiden* village on the Zwin storms 
Nieuwpoort seaport town (fisheries) storms 
Oostende seaport town (fisheries) storms 
Oudenburg village behind the dunes storms 

 

Because area no. 6 has already been studied, accounts of towns located on the Belgian 

coast were added along with additional dyke accounts that go further back in time than 1488. 

After having adapted the three quality criteria, eight out of eleven initially selected series of town 

accounts had to be left out. 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 54 
 

 
 

Nieuwpoort is an old seaport town, which economy was based on herring fishery.6 It 

flourished during the late 15
th

 and the 16
th

 century and shared many common interests with its 

neighbours (Dunkirk and Oostende). The Nieuwpoort town accounts are very important, because 

they give information about the maintenance of the dunes, the cities harbour, dams, quays, 

groins, sluices and some large buildings such as lighthouses, which very often results in a  

description of the impact of high tides and storms in terms of  damage.7 Until the 1520s the town 

account gives very detailed information on a weekly (sometimes even daily) basis  in terms of a 

full report of maintenance work carried out and expenses made by officials travelling to 

neighbouring cities or to the government to report damage events. Some of the information even 

covered several pages of the town account rendering it an excellent source for proxy data on high 

tides, storms and gales. Unfortunately this changed during the 1520s when detailed reports were 

left out and replaced by summarized entries. From then on detailed reports were exclusively used 

as receipts at the time the account was checked and eventually they got lost and only the huge 

gales and storm surges were recorded in the Nieuwpoort accounts. 

The Oostende and Nieuwpoort accounts are very similar in terms of content and layout.8 

During the 1450s Oostende built its first harbour which resulted in a lot of information about 

high tides and storms in the town account. Moreover this information could also be verified by 

comparing it to the information coming from the Nieuwpoort accounts. Again during the first 

quarter of the 16
th

 century the administration of the Oostende account changed; detailed entries 

were replaced by summarized entries which resulted in a huge loss of weather information. The 

remaining accounts of the 16
th

 and 17
th

 centuries only provided information about a few huge 

storm surges. 

The village of Blankenberge (no. 3) is located further north along the Belgian coast. 

During the period under consideration this was a small fishery village. It did not even have a 

harbour but it had to maintain parts of the dunes that could be damaged during high tides and 

storms. Unfortunately the rather thin accounts of this place eventually proved to have little or no 

use for the reconstruction of high tides and storm events.9 

Still further north along the coast and located on the tidal inlet of the Zwin was the small 

town of St.-Anna-ter-Muiden (no. 4). This town was part of the harbour of Bruges-Damme-Sluis. 

Although this small port had to maintain different kinds of dykes and dams and also harboured a 

modest fishery fleet, the thin annual accounts proved to have hardly any interest to our subject.10 

Biervliet (no. 5) was also a small seaport town that made a living from herring fishery 

and from salt production.11 Moreover, the town was completely surrounded by the sea and 

Biervliet had to maintain dykes that suffered from damage during high tides and storm events 

which was recorded in the annual accounts.12 The town’s salt production is a very special source 

of weather information. Salt was extracted from peat that was dug out in the vicinity of the town. 

After it had been dried the peat was burned and the ashes were put in large pans with boiling 

water. These pans were placed in small wooden sheds that were covered with reed roofs. The 

evaporation of the water produced a kind of salt compound at the bottom of the pans. This 

process was repeated several times by using water from the estuary of the Westerschelde. About 

1400 only French salt was being refined in the sheds in the same way. 

As a result in Biervliet numerous fires were continuously burning. Such a situation could 

easily get out of control during windy and very dry or hot weather. Because of this risk, people 

were hired on windy and stormy days and during long spells of drought to keep a close watch on 

the sheds. The town account has registered all of these stormy days and in most cases it was 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 55 
 

 
registered whether it was stormy or just warm or dry weather. Data control through verification 

of the Biervliet data with those of Nieuwpoort and Oostende enables us to establish the exact 

weather event that occurred on a particular date. 

As the town of Biervliet was also located on a small island consisting of several small 

polders it had to protect itself by dykes, that were vulnerable to high tides and storms. The 

information about dyke maintenance was split from the town account in 1516/7 and included in a 

separated series of dyke accounts.13 

 

 

 
 

Fig. 3. First page of the Biervliet town account 1438-1439 (AGR CdC, no. 32,076) 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 56 
 

 
 

Increasingly so the polders east of Biervliet (no. 6) faced higher rising tides and during 

storms the tides were funnelled up resulting in more damage to the dykes. Whereas the many 

dyke accounts and reports of damage during storm events and storm surges for the period 1488 

to1609 have already been studied, only some additional series of dyke accounts prior to 1488 

have been studied further.14 

Finally all of the information of the written sources has been compared to two major 

studies about past weather conditions in the Netherlands in general and storm surges in 

particular. The first one is a study of storm surges and river floods in the Netherlands, which is a 

kind of compilation work that was carried out by Gottschalk15 in order to distinguish fact from 

fiction. The second major study has been carried out by Buisman and Van Engelen, this work 

contains all kinds of weather events in the Low Countries and is in fact a kind of published of 

weather data base.16 

 

Discussion of Data 

 

First some general features of the data will be discussed, then specific data from the 

written sources will be discussed in more detail. 

After having applied the historical criticism and additional quality checks to the written 

sources and the proxy data they yield, only three major time series of town accounts qualified as 

useful sources of information about high tides, storms, gales and storm surges: Nieuwpoort, 

Oostende and Biervliet. Although some information could be extracted from the Blankenberge 

and St. Anna-ter-Muiden accounts, most important information about high tides and storm events 

came from several series of dyke accounts and similar sources from the polder area east of 

Antwerp. 

The series of written sources cover the 15
th
 and 16

th
 century well, except for the Biervliet 

location where the salt production stopped in 1544. This series was replaced by a series of dyke 

accounts of the island of Biervliet. Considering the number of accounts the written sources of 

Nieuwpoort, Oostende, Blankenberghe, St.-Anna-ter-Muiden and Biervliet, the coverage  for the 

15
th

 century  is 81.5%, for the 16
th
 century 87.6% and for the 17

th
 century 76.0%. 

Because high tide and storm events are presented largely uniformly in the accounts, gaps 

in the Oostende accounts could be solved by using the Nieuwpoort accounts, etc. In this way 

even the minor high tides and storm events could be discovered and checked. Cross checking of 

time series proved to be of particular interest for the period that the Nieuwpoort and Oostende 

accounts did not any longer include detailed reports on damage and public works carried out 

anymore. The sudden change in including only summarized entries caused the loss of a lot of 

vital information on storm and high tides. 

In order to know which storms and high tides occurred between 1400 and 1625 and how 

many, the written sources inform us in two ways. First, there is a mention of the  storm events. 

Secondly, the accounts inform us about the money spent on damage and the type and the 

amounts of material used to fix it. Let us first look at the type and the amounts of material used 

in cases of damage. 

The Nieuwpoort accounts give information about the damage caused by storm events to 

public buildings, its quays, wharfs, sluices and groins. Fig. 4. shows the number of weeks spent 

on the construction and repairs of reed and straw roofs in the city. Most significantly roof fixing 

increased between 1520 and 1565, while the earlier period does not show any conspicuous roof 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 57 
 

 
fixing. Although it is temping to look for a direct link between an increase in storminess and roof 

repairs caused by storms, we should keep in mind that because of it’s booming herring fisheries 

during the 16
th

 century Nieuwpoort was a fast developing city which resulted in an increase of 

the number of buildings. On the other hand, if we focus only on the 16
th

 century there is a direct 

link between  increasing damage to reed and straw roofs during the 1530s and the occurrence of  

two major storm surges in 1530/2 and 1552 (Fig. 5.).  Evidence to support this direct link comes 

from the Biervliet accounts. The town was severely hit by the storm surges of 13
th
 of January and 

15
th

 of February 1552. Two thatchers worked for 28 days to repair the roofs of the town hall and 

the market which were partly destroyed by the two tempests.17 In addition to this kind of 

information it also becomes clear that the two tempests must have reached Beaufort 10 or even 

more. 

 

 

Construction and repairs of reed and straw roofs at 

Nieuwpoort, 1500-1565

0

5

10

15

20

25

1500 1510 1520 1530 1540 1550 1560

N
u

m
b

er
 o

f 
w

ee
k

s

x x

 
 
Fig. 4. Number of weeks working on repairing reed and straw roofs at Nieuwpoort, 1500-1565 with the marked (x) 

storm surge years 1530/2 and 1552. 
 

The correlation between increasing damage to reed and straw roofs and storminess is 

only noticeable in two instances of major storm surges and therefore it is too weak a connection 

to be able to measure storminess throughout the entire period. Therefore we also need to look at 

the damage caused by high tides and storms to dunes, dykes, wharfs and quays. Because 

annually huge amounts of bundles of reed and sheaves of straw were used to protect the weakest 

parts of dykes, dunes and groins, we were able to quantify these amounts. Fig. 5. represents the 

number of bundles reed, straw and wicker used for annual maintenance of dunes and groins of 

the Nieuwpoort (Ni) and Oostende (Oo) harbours. This graph shows a variability in time 

including years of a strong increase in the amounts needed for maintenance that coincides both 

with storm events and extra repairs that had to be carried out after years of ‘neglect’. In some 

cases the town’s clerk had forgotten to register last years amounts. Some of the peaks are simply 

explained by a fast development of one of the harbours. 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 58 
 

 
Looking at the annual numbers of reed, straw and the amounts of sods used at Oostende 

to fix damage caused by high tide and storm events even less peaks can be distinguished. 

Moreover it seems that severe damage caused by major storm events, such as major storm surges 

is answered for in separate accounts of which most have been lost by now. 

 

 
 
Fig. 5. Use of reed and straw for coastal protection and annual maintenance at Nieuwpoort and Oostende, 1420-

1580. 

 

Because of the inflation during the period and because of the fast development of the city 

and probably also its harbour it is hard to distinguish the part that high tides and storms may have 

played. Although the amounts of reed and straw used for dyke and dune maintenance can be 

indicative for high tides and storm events, this kind of information cannot be used exclusively for 

reconstruction of storminess throughout the period. 

This in fact mainly leaves us the mentioning of storm and high tide events, the precise 

year or date and the amount of damage as far as Nieuwpoort and Oostende are concerned. For 

instance a group of workers was employed on 17
th

 of November 1404 on the dunes of 

Nieuwpoort during the “great flood”. Work continued for several weeks and also included fixing 

the large holes that were caused by the flood.18 And at Oostende on the 3
rd

 of January 1496 a gale 

had knocked out the doors of the lock of the harbour.19 

 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 59 
 

 

 
 

Fig. 6. Paragraph of the Biervliet town account of 1428-1429 about the fire prevention (AGR CdC, no. 32076). 

 
The Biervliet town accounts provide information about damage caused to dykes by high 

tides and storms and also give the number of stormy, hot and dry days during which the salt pan 
fires had to be guarded. On 20th of December 1407 there was a risk of fire in salt sheds, because 
of a long period of freezing drought.20 Another period of long drought occurred in March-April 
1451 during which sharp winds also raised a fire hazard.21 In 1410/11, 1417/18 and 1468/69 fires 
got out of control at Biervliet. In nearly all cases of dates of fire prevention mentioned in the 
Biervliet town account the combination of hot, sometimes even cold and dry weather along with 
sharp winds is vital for causing large scale fires. Unfortunately about a quarter of the accounts is 
missing (blank bars in Fig. 7) and that the 16th century ones are less informative about fire 
prevention, nevertheless the annual number of stormy, hot and dry days during which a fire 
guard was needed, can be shown. 

 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 60 
 

 

Annual Number of Stormy, Hot and Dry Days at Biervliet, 1400-

1500

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1400 10 20 30 40 1450 60 70 80 90 1500

n
u

m
b

er
 o

f 
d

a
y
s

 
 
Fig. 7. Graph showing the annual number of days of fire prevention at Biervliet, 15th century. White bars represent 

missing years. 
 

Fig 8 also shows a variability of storminess throughout the 15th century with three peaks 
of storminess. The first lasted from 1400-1418, the second 1423-1431 and a third period started 
about 1452 and continued until the beginning of the 1470s. It is hardly possible to assess the 
wind force during the days that fire prevention was needed. Considering the large stocks of dry 
peat and reed and the straw covered wooden sheds that could very easily catch fire, wind force 
could range from Beaufort 5, 6 or even higher. Experimental archaeology could possibly supply 
an answer, but so far it has not. 
 
Method 
 

In spite of the fact that most of the weather data discussed so far can be indirectly or 
directly connected to storms and similar weather events, it remains impossible to obtain an 
overview of storms of or even to have a storm frequency throughout the period. Therefore direct 
and precise information about storms and high tides needs to be used that comes from the town 
account’s entries that deal with dyke and other kinds of maintenance mentioning the date of the 
storm event, the extent of the damage and other specific information. Similar information is 
provided by the numerous dyke accounts from the polder area located between Biervliet and 
Antwerp.22 In order to get an insight into the variability of storms throughout the period 1400–
1625 first an annual inventory of high tide and storm events needs to be made. Such an inventory 
already exists (1488-1609), but also needs to includes the new high quality data coming from the 
written sources discussed so far earlier on. This data base can then be extrapolated back into 
time. 

Basically, there are two ways of reconstruction storminess. The first and by far the easiest 
way is by just counting the number of weather events. 

 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 61 
 

 

High tides, Storms and Storm Surges along the Belgian Coast and in the 

Westerschelde Basin, 1400-1625

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1400 1425 1450 1475 1500 1525 1550 1575 1600 1625

in
d

ic
es

annual indices

11 years smooth

 
Fig. 8. Annual number of high tides, storms and storm surges on the Belgian coast and in the Westerschelde estuary, 

1400-1626. 

 
However, this does not justify the impact individual storm events may have had. An 

event may occur at one place, while it is not mentioned at another place. A storm event may have 
caused huge damage all over the coastal area, such as flooding and it may be mentioned in 
numerous entries in all accounts. Therefore additional criteria are needed. These criteria can be 
summarized in four categories. 

• Wording system or vocabulary which takes into account the way the events is described, 
such as high tide, flood, storm or tempest, sharp wind, etc.23 For instance a ‘high tide’ 
should be assessed differently from a ‘severe flood.’ 

• Size of the damage in terms of the number of acres flooded, the amounts of reed, straw 
and sods used for repairs.24 Several breaches in a dyke should be assessed differently 
from sand being blown off the dunes near Nieuwpoort. 

• Locally, regionally determined or having a much wider range. High tide and storm events 
that occur at several locations, for instance Nieuwpoort, Oostende, Biervliet and in terms 
of serious damage to dykes in the polders east of this town need to be assessed differently 
from the mention in terms of a storm that only occurred at St.-Anna-ter-Muiden.  

• Duration of the event: one high tide or three spring tides during a severe storm surge. 
Especially storm surges may last for more than just one day. ‘Long’ lasting storm events 
cause the second or third high tide (spring tide) to rise even higher than the first and is 
therefore to be much more damaging.  
 
These four criteria and their variables have been included in eight categories resulting in 

the method that has been established earlier. This method is still valid and only needs to be 
adjusted in some detail. 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 62 
 

 
 

Table 2. The eight categories used in this study with a short characterisation of the high tide or storm event and 
description of specific features. 

 

Value Phenomenon  Consequences, spatial scale, duration……   
              
1.  High tides  no damage, only mentioned once    
              
2.  High tides  coinciding with storms, causing damage   
              
3.  Storms    causing damage at several places at the same time 
              
4.  Heavy storms  causing damage at several places    
              
5.  Heavy gales  causing severe damage, even flooding    
              
6.  Heavy gale winds heavy and large scale damage and flooding   
              
7.  Storm surges  general and large scale damage restricted to certain areas 
              
8.  Storm surges  general and large scale damage in wide areas   
                   

 
Results and calibration 
 

Before the final result is obtained an additional check is needed. This check is the storm 
frequency of the 15th century and its 11 years smooth compared to, for instance, the annual 
number of storms and the dry and hot weather at Biervliet (Fig. 7). 

From Figs. 7 and 8. a significant connection is shown between the overall picture of 
storm frequency and the storm events at Biervliet. Again the three peak periods of storm events 
emerge. This ensures us that our method is valid to reconstruct storminess throughout the period 
1400 to 1625. 
 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 63 
 

 

High tides, Storms and Storm Surges along the Belgian Coast and in the 

Westerschelde Basin, 1400-1625

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1400 1425 1450 1475 1500 1525 1550 1575 1600 1625

in
d

ic
es

annual indices

11 years smooth

Fig. 9. Storm frequency 1400-1625 on the Belgian coast and in the Westerschelde estuary. 
 
Surveying the storm frequency of the period 1400 to 1625, roughly five periods of increasing 
storminess can be distinguished: 
 

• first quarter 15th century 
• about 1460 to 1495 
• 1510 to 1530s 
• 1560 – 1590s 
• 1610s  

 
The next step is to look for connections with contemporary time series of weather events. 

There are only a few time series of reconstructed temperature and there is hardly any connection 
between the Mann et al25  temperature reconstruction which represents an annual but global 
temperature reconstruction and our reconstructed storminess 1400-1625. The Jones et al26 and 
Briffa27 temperatures reconstruction both representing summer temperature show rather similar 
results, however, they cannot automatically be used. In spite of their extra-tropical nature they 
remain far too general and besides disagree amongst themselves.28 

This brings us to use the temperatures reconstruction of the Netherlands developed by 
Van Engelen of which we have used the time series of indices.29 There only seems to be a fair 
connection between the increase of storminess and summer warming on one hand and the 
decrease of storminess and summer cooling during the 15th century on the other hand (Fig. 10). A 
comparison of both features for the entire period 1400-1625 hardly shows a distinctive 
connection between storminess and winter temperature (Fig. 12). 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 64 
 

 
 

 
 
Fig. 10. Connection between storm frequency and annual summer temperature, 1400-1625 on the Belgian coast and 

in the Westerschelde estuary. 

 

 

 
 
Fig. 11. Connection between storm frequency and annual winter temperature, 1400-1625 on the Belgian coast and in 

the Westerschelde estuary. 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 65 
 

 
 

From the comparison of storm frequency with both summer and winter indices of 

temperatures there appears to be a much more significant variability in storminess than in 

temperature throughout the period. In order to assess whether this stronger variability is 

exceptional a comparison with storm frequency over the past 150 years from the Westerschelde 

area has been made (Fig. 12). 

 

 
 
Fig. 12. Storm frequency 1850-1990 in the Westerschelde estuary. 

 

Fig. 12. represents the accumulated annually height in centimetres of high tides reached 

in the Westerschelde basin. Each year shows the total number of the maximum height reached by 

each spring tide and during each storm surge. Therefore the graph not only shows the annual 

fluctuation but also the general sea level rise in this area. In particular the 1970s and 80s show a 

strong increase in storminess which then decreases, but still remains at a higher level during the 

1990s. If we plot the number of gales Beaufort 10 to 12 that occurred between 1910 and 2000 in 

a graph an increase in storminess which starts during the 1970s is shown. For instance in 1977 

there were four days of Beaufort. 10. 

 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 66 
 

 

 
 
Fig. 13. Storm frequency in The Netherlands, 1910-2000 

 

A final comparison could be made with patterns of rainfall of the period under consideration and 

the North Atlantic Oscillation. Whereas Atlantic storms travelling into Europe very strongly 

control rainfall, a direct link could be made between increasing storminess and increasing rainfall 

throughout for instance Central Europe. Unfortunately, there are no rainfall data sets of the 

period 1400-1625 available.30 A high NAO during winter time coincides with a north-eastward 

orientation during which depressions push deeply into NW-Europe and should, therefore be 

corresponding with an increasing  storminess in the North Sea area. Although it is tempting to 

connect the periods of increasing storminess between 1400 and 1625 to a high NAO during 

winter time, far more research is needed to have additional information about high tides and 

storm events per year and to specify these per season as well, not only for the southern part of the 

North Sea but also for the northern part in order to be able to assess the track of single storm 

events more precisely. 

 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 67 
 

 
Conclusion 
 

The study of proxy data from Belgian and Dutch series of written sources of the period 

1400 to 1625 has provided information about high tides, gales and storm surges in the south 

eastern part of the North Sea. The information is of high quality because the obtained proxy data 

is continuous over a long period and uniform. Moreover the proxy data comes from a large area 

that is very vulnerable to high tides and storms and consists of the entire Belgian coastal plain 

and the estuary Westerschelde. Studying a larger area and using new and additional time series 

of written accounts has enabled us to not only  verify our data but also to draw more fundamental 

conclusions. 

First, the data base of high tides, storms and storm surges has been extended back to 1400 

by adding many previously unknown events. Most of these could be dated with great precision. 

Secondly, by using a method that reckons with the terminology, damage-size, 

geographical distribution and the duration of high tides and storm events by assessing each single 

event, it has become possible to reconstruct storminess throughout the entire period. From the 

storm frequency over 2.25 centuries five distinctive periods of increasing storminess emerge of 

which the second half of the 16
th
 century stands out most strongly. 

Thirdly, comparison with mean annual temperature reconstruction carried out by Man, 

Jones and Briffa showed a weak connection between a drop in temperature and increasing 

storminess. But comparisons with three that largely disagree amongst themselves proved to be 

very difficult. 

Fourthly, the comparison with summer and winter temperature reconstruction from the 

period under consideration that was only carried out for the Netherlands showed a significant 

connection between storminess and annual summer temperature, especially for the 15
th
 century. 

Fifthly, a comparison with the sea level change of the past 1.5 centuries in the 

Westerschelde estuary again shows a connection between increasing storminess and accelerated 

sea level rise. 

Sixthly, a comparison between the gales Beaufort 10 –12 of the 20st century and our 

reconstructed storm frequency also show a significant variability 

 

Looking at future research on storminess this can be summarized as follows. 

It is possible to push the storm frequency further back into time by a few decades by studying 

additional time series of Belgian accounts from the coastal area. Some decades of the period 

1400 to 1625 still need some additional proxy data in order to verify the reconstructed storm 

frequency time series as it is now. More importantly still, is to bridge the period from 1626 to the 

18
th

 century in order to have a comparison with some of the early instrumental time series and to 

connect with the NAO time series and additional temperature and rainfall reconstructions. 

Bridging this gap can be achieved by studying the huge number of dyke accounts that date from 

the 17
th

 century. 

 
Acknowledgements 
 

Prof. Dr. G.J. Borger and Drs. A. Kattenberg (Institute for Geo and Bioarchaeology, Vrije 

Universiteit, Amsterdam). 



 Reconstruction of Storm Frequency 68 
 

 
Endnotes 

 
1
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 Geurts, H.A.M., and A.F.V. van Engelen, 1992, Geschiedenis van weerkundige 

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 Ogilvie, Astrid, and Graham Farmer, 1999,  “Documenting the medieval climate”, 

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6
 Dumon, R., Geschiedenis van Nieuwpoort, Langemark, 1989; R. Degryse, De vroegste 

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 Archives Générales du Royaume (Brussels, Belgium, referred to as AGR), Chambre 

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8
 AGR CdC, nos. 37,239-37,424 (1403-1625). Studied as far as no. 37,360. 

9
 AGR CdC, nos. 32,148-32,305 (1400-1625). Studied as far as no. 32,165. 

10
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11
 Mertens, J., 1963, “Biervliet, een laatmiddeleeuws centrum van zoutwinning (1

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13

 AGR CdC, nos. 27,813-27,863 (1530-1583). Zeeland Archives (Middelburg, The 

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 AGR CdC, no. 6894 (1551-1552) 
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 AGR CdC, no. 36,710 (1404-1405). 



 History of Meteorology 2 (2005) 69 
 

 
 

19
 AGR CdC, no. 37,318 (1495-1496). 

20
 AGR CdC, no. 32,064 (1407-1408). 

21
 AGR CdC, no. 32,090 (1450-1451). 

22
 De Kraker, 1997 and De Kraker, 1999. 

23
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