The great storm of 1987 was a violent extratropical cyclone that occurred on the night of 15–16 October, with hurricane-force winds causing casualties in the United Kingdom, France, and the Channel Islands as a severe depression in the Bay of Biscay moved northeast. Among the most damaged areas were Greater London, Kent, the East Anglian coast, the Home Counties, the west of Brittany, and the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy, all of which weathered gusts typically with a return period of 1 in 200 years.[4][5]
Forests, parks, roads, and railways were strewn with fallen trees and schools were closed. The British National Grid suffered heavy damage, leaving thousands without power. At least 22 people were killed in England and France.[6][3] The highest measured gust of 135 miles per hour; 217 kilometres per hour (117 kn) was recorded at Pointe Du Roc, Granville, France and the highest gust in the UK of 120 mph; 190 km/h (100 kn) was recorded at Shoreham, West Sussex.[7] The storm has been termed a weather bomb due to its rapid development.[8]
That day's weather reports had failed to indicate a storm of such severity, an earlier, correct forecast having been negated by later projections. The apparent suggestion by the BBC's Michael Fish of a false alarm is celebrated as a classic gaffe, though he claims he was misquoted.[9] As a result of this storm, major improvements were later implemented in atmospheric observation, relevant computer models, and the training of forecasters.[10]
^ abDavid Braine (28 October 2014). "The 1987 Great Storm". BBC Cornwall. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^United Kingdom Met Office (2007). "The Great Storm of 1987" (PDF). Risk Management Solutions. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
^ ab"The Great Storm of 1987". Wayback Machine: Met Office. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
^Vidal, John (16 October 2012). "Sting jet technology means no more hurricane mishaps for Michael Fish". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
^"How did the 'Great Storm' of 1987 develop?". Met Office News Blog. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
^Lennon, Sam (15 October 2022). "The Great Storm of 1987: Remembering devastating impact on Kent on 35th anniversary". www.kentonline.co.uk. KM Group. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^"The Great Storm of 1987". Met Office. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^"Ophelia's strange path". The Economist. 16 October 2017.
^"Great Storm of 1987: Michael Fish's 'white lie'". BBC News. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
^"Lessons learned from Great Storm". BBC News. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
and 22 Related for: Great storm of 1987 information
The Greatstormof 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney...
despite an unfortunate comment before the GreatStormof1987. During a weather forecast some hours before the storm, Michael Fish started his forecast with...
GreatStorm may refer to: GreatStormof 1703 Great Lakes Stormof 1913 North Sea flood of 1953, also known as The GreatStormof 1953 Ash Wednesday Storm...
ISBN 0-609-60233-0. "Lessons learned from GreatStorm". BBC News. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2010. "Met Office: The GreatStormof1987". Archived from the original...
Wight. The storm was one of the most powerful to impact the south coast of England since the GreatStormof1987. The storm caused a huge amount of damage...
Great Trees of London is a list created by Trees for Cities after the GreatStormof1987, when the general public were asked to suggest suitable trees...
announced on the 24 December 2021. A few hours before the GreatStormof1987 broke, on 15 October 1987, Fish said during a televised weather forecast: "Earlier...
Atlantic tropical cyclone Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone GreatStormof1987, extratropical storm that hit southern England and northern France "Tropical...
1987 January February March April May June July August September October November December Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1987. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII)...
weather ship became a negative factor in forecasts leading up to the GreatStormof1987. The last weather ship was Polarfront, known as weather station M...
(known as Burns' Day Storm in the UK) in January 1990 and Windstorm Lothar in 1999 (each costing c. B USD), and the GreatStormof1987 (4.3 B USD) Vivian/Wiebke...
aviaries during the GreatStormof1987 A pair of parakeets released by Jimi Hendrix in Carnaby Street, London, in the 1960s A number of parakeets that reportedly...
Explosive development of extratropical cyclones can be sudden. The storm known in Great Britain and Ireland as the "GreatStormof1987" deepened to 953 millibars...
strike (1984–85), and the GreatStormof1987. The serial is commonly regarded as one of the most successful BBC television dramas of the 1990s, described...
northern edge of the ground in 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. Six were blown down in the GreatStormof1987. In December 1987, seven new...
October Storm may refer to: Greatstormof1987, or the Great October Storm, which struck the United Kingdom and France Lake Storm Aphid, which in October...
Networks). It was the largest blackout in South East England since the GreatStormof1987, affecting 476,000 customers. Power was lost at 18:20 BST and restored...
Eskdalemuir Observatory European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts GreatStormof1987 Met Éireann, the Irish meteorological service, which separated from...
Storm Babet (known as Storm Viktor in Germany) was an intense extratropical cyclone which affected large parts of northern and western Europe. The second...
part of the war effort in 1940, the pier was sectioned to prevent an enemy invasion and later restored using concrete piles. During the Greatstormof 1987...