Storm 'Xythnia' did a lot of damage in western & northern France early yesterday. With pressure as low as 968mb, winds on the top of Paris's Eiffel Tower reached 109mph, similar to speeds seen at the top of the 'PO Tower' in London during the October 1987 'Great Storm'.  As France declared a national disaster, at least 50 people were killed in the storms right across N Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and Germany; however most deaths occurred on the French Atlantic coast where people drowned, were hit by parts of buildings or falling trees. Five of France's departments were put on red alert - for only the second time since the new colour coded emergency system was introduced in 2001. Over a million homes in France lost electricity, from Brittany to the Massif Central. UKww (UK Weatherworld) has ascertained this relatively rare Shapiro/Keyser type storm produced a 'sting jet' scenario, which likely occured over the Bay of Biscay, before it reached the coast, nevertheless winds reached 90-100mph here in places. Pressure rose as much as 22mb in 3 hours across N Spain, behind the storm, again similar to the amount seen in the south of England during the 1987 storm as well as storm Lothar which hit France in December 1999.  Anecdotally, there is some evidence that severe depressions of this type taking a notably southerly track are becoming more commonplace in the last few decades.