Until December 14, France (and the United Kingdom and Ireland) were protected by a strong area of high air pressure that stretched from Africa to the British Isles. The Nordic nations, however, were affected by a series of storms, including Windstorm Hilde (November 17), Windstorm Oskari (December 1), Windstorm Xaver (December 5–7), Windstorm Ivar (December 12) and Windstorms Zaki and Adam (December 14–15). Windstorm Xaver is mostly known for the North sea flood of December 5 in the UK. 