What happens when a storm hits an under-construction offshore wind farm?
Storm Amy was the first named storm of the 2025/26 season and broke the UK's October low-pressure record.
But what does a storm like that actually look like 130km offshore at Dogger Bank wind farm?
I've been experimenting with combining high-resolution weather data with AIS vessel tracking to find out.
In the animation you can see construction vessels working at Dogger Bank in the days before the storm.
Early on October 3rd, well before conditions deteriorated, most vessels leave the site. Some head back to port, others move to a safe distance.
This doesn't appear to be a last-minute scramble, it's a choreographed withdrawal potentially based on forecasts made days in advance.
Then the storm hits, you can watch the wind speed and direction change as Amy passes through.
What I found interesting is what happens after the worst of the wind has passed. The sea remained rough far longer than you might expect.
When the vessels eventually return late on October 5th, the seas are actually rougher than when they left.
All in all, two days off site due to the storm.
This is very much a work in progress as I continue exploring what stories you can tell by combining vessel movement with high-res weather models.
There's a whole lot more I plan to do with this…
Vessel tracking data from Kpler
EURO1k weather data from Meteomatics
Robin Hawkes ⚡️
Jim Stanton