On this day in 1990: The great Burns' Day cyclone

On this day 34 years ago the Burns’ Day celebrations of 1990 were disrupted by one of the strongest windstorms to hit Europe on record.

The result of an intense depression moving across southern Scotland, heavy winds and severe gales battered Scotland and spread into England and Wales before moving to continental Europe.

Although there were no official storm names given at the time, it has since been known as Cyclone Daria.

By the time of its departure, the storm had led to the loss of 47 lives, power cuts, and severed telephone lines. Trees covered roads, leaving them impassable while other transport links such as trains and ships were also rendered unusable.

The worst of the storm was felt in central and southern England and Wales where buildings were damaged by sustained winds between 70 and 75 mph in places and gusts reaching as high as 104 mph.

Severe flooding also impacted Britain, and the storm remains the most expensive weather event on record for UK insurers at a cost of £3.37 billion.

After departing our shores, Daria went on to hit continental Europe. First hitting the Netherlands before forging a path through Belgium, France, Germany, and Denmark.

In all, almost three million trees were felled across Europe, with more than 500,000 properties seeing a loss of power and severe flooding impacting West Germany.