The Baltic storm surges of 1872 and 2023 – what do they have in common?

The Baltic Sea storm surge of 20 October 2023 was one of the highest observed on the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The storm of 13 November 1872 is still the highest recorded one in the western Baltic Sea in the last two centuries. Both storm events occurred in autumn and are characterised by a similar atmospheric weather situation with a stationary high-pressure area over Scandinavia and a low-pressure area over Central Europe. This led to a strong pressure gradient over the western Baltic Sea and resulted in strong easterly winds and particularly high wind surges, which in both cases challenged the coastal protection at the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein.