The entire United Kingdom was battered by storms January 3, and the Met Office has issued warnings of more to come tonight. Sustained winds of up to 95 mph – beating the low end of the standard Beaufort scale by 22 mph – coupled with heavy rain caused major traffic and transportation problems, not to mention ripping down power lines, removing roofs and bringing trains to a standstill. After an unexpectedly warm New Year's Day, the weather was a particularly harsh let-down.
In Britain, the above-mentioned Beaufort scale started to be established in the early 19th century. Originally, reports were based on how well sails could stand up to the wind; the scale has subsequently been standardized with specific wind speeds. Gales start at force 6 – 25 to 30 mph – and force 12 is a wind of 73 mph or worse. Forces 13 through 17 were added in 1946, but are only applied to cyclones in the Pacific and never to misbehaving British weather. (Story continues below.)
There's at least one sail in Britain that couldn't handle the pace: “The Guardian” reported that an 18th-century windmill near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, lost one of its sails. Part of the Avoncroft museum, the sail went through the rare windmill's side, causing £5000 worth of damage.
In the Highlands of Scotland, where weather is often worse than elsewhere, the wind was “frightening,” according to our sources. Glasgow locked down its rail service and motorways (freeways) and, in Tunbridge Wells, a man was killed when his van flipped. Massive waves bashed defensive sea walls in Devon and Wales while, in London, heavy rain caused cyclists to cover their feet with plastic bags and turned umbrellas inside-out. Utility workers were spotted climbing poles to reinstate power lines; 26,000 Scots were without power following the storm.
While the extreme weather did calm down a little during the day, 75 mph winds are already blasting Western Scotland, while the rest of the United Kingdom can expect gusts of up to 50 mph.
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Sources: The Telegraph; Channel 4 News; The Guardian;Bromsgrove Standard
Linda Gentile is the British Life Examiner and British Royal Family Examiner. You can be the first to read new articles on either topic by subscribing to the newsletter or adding the RSS feed. You can also follow on Twitter and Facebook.
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