Closely following Cyclone Ulli, Andrea, the first named storm of 2012 formed southwest of Iceland on 3 January, moving down into the North Sea, and affecting the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany.

[5] The worst affected area was Southern Scotland where several weather stations reported their highest gust on record.

Storm Andrea brought strong winds (up to force 9) thunder and hail[8] Due to the high sea levels, the heavy rainfall could not be discharged as easily from the land without the risk of coastal flooding.

[14] The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) issued warnings for expected storm surges along the Northern German coast in North Frisia and Hamburg.

In the port of Calais the SeaFrance ferry Berlioz slipped its moorings and crossed the harbour before striking the Ile de Batz, a cable laying ship belonging to Alcatel during winds of 110 km/h (68 mph) according to the harbourmaster.

[16][17] The Belgian met office issued a code orange warning for the whole country and the Øresund Bridge was also closed between Denmark and Sweden due to the storm.

[18] In Upper Franconia, Germany a 43-year-old man died following a frontal collision, according to police after a gust pushed the car into oncoming traffic.

At higher elevations of the Great St Bernard Pass on the French border wind speeds of 210 km/h (130 mph) were measured.

[21] Unusually heavy snows also buried towns and blocked roads in Austria's western Tyrol and Vorarlberg federal-states leading to avalanche warnings.

[20] In the French Alps 20,000 homes were left without power as high winds and snow caused blackouts, with Haute-Savoie, Isère, and Savoy departments particularly affected.

[7][22] Austrian rescue workers abandoned the search for a missing 15-year-old skier on 13 January, despite the best efforts of sniffer dogs, heat sensors, radar, and 450 personnel.