Andalusia Andalusia Andalusia ' onMouseout='HidePop("18067")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/2006_Ryder_Cup">2006 Ryder Cup
The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 2006 at The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Team Europe won the competition by a score of 18½ to 9½ points, equalling their record winning margin of 2 years earlier. This was the first time Europe had achieved three successive victories...
in
StraffanStraffan is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, situated on the banks of the River Liffey, 25 km upstream of the Irish capital Dublin....
,
County KildareCounty Kildare is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Leinster and was named after the town of Kildare . Kildare is the 25th largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and ninth largest in terms of population...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, sparking fears that the event may be greatly interrupted and delayed. Strong gusts and heavy rain associated with another system had already wreaked havoc, causing both teams to delay their second practice rounds. This led to concerns about the possible state of the course by the time the tournament proper was due to start on September 22, leading to the possibility of further interruptions and possible changing of the normal rules. As a result, September 25 was set aside as an additional "reserve day" by organizers at the K Club.
On September 19 it was reported that the remnants of Gordon would cause high winds and rainfall in parts of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. The UK Met Office stated that a "period of very windy weather" with "exceptionally severe gales" was expected for much of Northern Ireland and Scotland. Northern Ireland was expected to receive the brunt of the storm, with severe gales as high as 80 mph expected. There were also warnings of localised flooding, with up to two inches (50 mm) of rain expected to fall. In addition, Wales and western England were warned of gusts of up to 50 mph.
Azores
The
AzoresThe Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about from Lisbon and about from the east coast of North America. The two westernmost Azorean islands actually lie on the North American plate...
escaped significant damage. There were only reports of toppled trees and power lines, knocking out power to some communities, particularly on
Santa Maria IslandSanta Maria is an island located in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago and the southernmost island in the Azores...
.
Spain
Gordon hit the northwestern province of Galicia as an intensifying extratropical storm early on September 21. Gusts as strong as 101 mph (165 km/h) were witnessed at Fisterra. Even near Madrid, reported winds of 65 mph (107 km/h) raked Punto Navacerrada. Heavy rainfall, up to 2.58" (65.5 mm) at Canfranc, fell across
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. The pressure plummeted to 989.7 hPa at A Coruña. Waves as high as 7 metres were also reported. Trees, traffic lights, containers and placards were all blown over by the strong winds. One man was injured due a tree falling on his car. Overall damage was light, but some roads were blocked.
Republic of Ireland
On September 20, practice rounds for the
Ryder CupThe Ryder Cup is a golf trophy, donated by Samuel Ryder, which is awarded biennially in an event called the "Ryder Cup Matches" between teams from Europe and the United States...
were temporarily delayed due to high winds, but Meteorological Office charts showed these to be associated with a different Atlantic low pressure area rather than effects of Gordon itself.
The remnants of Gordon caused stormy conditions late on September 21, with 1,500 homes losing power. The worst affected areas were on the east coast between
DroghedaDrogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. Drogheda is the third largest town in Ireland....
and
WexfordWexford is the county town of County Wexford in Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern tip of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to the capital Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route , and the national rail network...
and in the south around
CorkCork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster...
and
LimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland,
[Information based on Central Statistics Office figures from 2006, which is the most recent census information available.] and the principal city in County Limerick...
.
Earlier on the 21st, a woman attending the Ryder Cup in County Kildare was injured after a tree branch fell near a golf buggy in which she was travelling. Additionally, the event's media centre was evacuated due to high winds. However, the gates opened at 06:00 on September 22 as originally planned and the tournament's first day went ahead without major disruption.
United Kingdom
The remnants of Gordon hit south-west Britain late on September 21. A gust of 81 mph (130) km/h) was recorded and power lines were hit, leaving more than 1,000 homes without power in
TruroTruro is a city in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population of 20,920. It is the only city in the county, and the most southerly city in Great Britain...
,
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
. In
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
, the rail line between
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
and
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
was damaged by high surf at
DawlishDawlish is a town on the south coast of Devon, England, 12 miles from the County town of Exeter, with a population of around 13,000 people. During the eighteenth century, it grew from a small fishing port to become a well-known seaside resort....
, causing disruption to services. A section of seawall 10m (33 ft) long was also eroded near the track. A tree fell onto a campervan in Yeoford, but no injuries were reported.
Gusts of up to 75 mph affected
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
during the night of the 21st & 22nd. Up to 100,000 houses lost power as tree branches fell on power lines. Fallen trees caused widespread disruption: in
County DownCounty Down is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland....
, several people had to be rescued from their vehicles after trees had fallen on them; flooding was also reported at
RostrevorRostrevor is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough. The Kilbroney River flows through the village....
. Several roads across the province were blocked by fallen trees, including the
M1 motorwayThe M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for 38 miles from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...
and the main roads from
DerryDerry or Londonderry often called the Maiden City, is a city in Northern Ireland. It is the second largest city in Northern Ireland and fourth largest city in the island of Ireland...
to
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
and
ColeraineColeraine is a large town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland near to the mouth of the River Bann. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
. The Foyle Bridge in Derry was also closed for two hours early on the 22nd due to high winds.
In
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, high winds led to the cancelling of ferry services from
StranraerStranraer is a town in the south of Scotland in the west of the region of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
and
CairnryanCairnryan is a small Scottish village overlooking Loch Ryan and is notable today for its large modern ferry port which opened in 1973, originally operated by Townsend Thoresen and now by P&O Ferries, which links Scotland with Larne in Northern Ireland...
. Lorries on the A715 road were forced to park on the roadside overnight due to dangerous driving conditions.
One positive effect from the extratropical remnants of Gordon was observed in
NewquayNewquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port on the north Atlantic coast of Cornwall, Great Britain. It is bounded to the west by the River Gannel and its associated salt marsh, and in the east by the Porth Valley. The town has been expanding inland since it was founded...
, Cornwall, where large waves and swells up to 2.5 m (8 ft) high made for excellent surf conditions.
See also
- 2006 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season officially ran from June 1 to November 30, 2006. It was significantly less active than the previous season, was the first since 2001 in which no hurricanes made landfall in the United States, and was the first since 1994 that no tropical cyclones formed during...
- Timeline of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season was the first since 2001 in which no hurricanes made landfall in the United States, and the first since 1994 that no tropical cyclones formed during October. This timeline documents all the storm formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical...
- List of storms in the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season
External links