On this day... The Great Storm of 1987

On October 15th and 16th, 38 years ago, one of the worst storms in history struck the United Kingdom.

The Great Storm of 1987 was a powerful extra-tropical cyclone that occurred on the night of October 15th 1987. It developed as a rapidly deepening depression over the Bay of Biscay.

The highest recorded wind speed gust was 115 mph at Shoreham on the Sussex coast. The storm is referred to as a one in 200 year event, and is reportedly the worst storm since 1703.

As a result of the damaging winds, 15 million trees were blown down, and sadly there were 18 fatalities in England.

Thousands of homes were also without power for over 24 hours. In addition, a ship was blown over in Dover, and a Channel ferry was blown ashore.

However, changes were made to improve observational coverage of the atmosphere in the wake of this devastating storm, resulting in improved quality and quantity of observations produced by ships, aircraft, buoys, and satellites.