The paper reviews the societal and energy impacts of Storm Franz in Europe on 11–12 November 2007. An analysis is conducted of tide gauges around the North Sea to trace the progression of the storm surge and assess if the surge passage was associated with large measured waves and maritime casualties. A North Sea rogue wave incident had occurred on 1 November 2006, causing damage to the FINO1 research tower, and it is unclear how prevalent these waves are during North Sea storms.

Storm Kyrill in January 2007 was one of the worst storms in northern Europe over the past 50 years. The paper presents an overview of the infrastructure and societal impacts of the storm from a compilation of media sources. Energy meteorology impacts were prominent in the large number of power cuts in Europe. An analysis is made of tide gauge data around the North Sea to assess if there had been a recurrence of the rogue wave event at FINO1 from Storm Britta on 1 November 2006.

Storm Anatol was a serious winter storm of northern Europe on 3–4 December 1999. There were hurricane force winds in Denmark leading large scale power outages, closed road networks, and building damage. There was also a serious storm surge along the North Sea coasts of Denmark, Germany, and Netherlands. A detailed analysis of tide gauge data around the North Sea is carried out to study the storm surge and short period fluctuations of water level, which may be linked with large waves.

Storm Xaver in December 2013 had a high gust field that caused transportation and energy infrastructure impacts in northern Europe. There was a strong storm surge across the North Sea basin that was higher than the 1 Feb 1953 surge in certain places. For some stations in the UK and Denmark, water levels exceeded the 1000 year return period level. Similar to previous winter storms, there is an indication of large waves in coastal areas with potential impacts on offshore energy infrastructure.