STORM Eunice’s wild weather created a wind, rain and snowfall not seen in over 30 years.
And for some, they will inevitably wonder if the horrendous conditions are as bad as the great hurricane of 1987.
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How strong were the winds in 1987?
Much of southern England was completely blown down by the wind speed up to 100mph.
1987 saw an extremely high one-hour average of 86 mph, in some areas subject to sustained winds for up to four hours.
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What happened during the great storm of 1987?
In the early hours of October 16, 1987, the south coast of England was wrecked by the biggest storm in nearly a century.
Days before the storm made landfall, forecasters had forecast severe weather in the form of heavy rain on the way.
By the time most people had gone to bed on October 15, TV weather warnings had yet to issue any warnings of brutal winds.
But the Met Office notified the Department of Defense at around 1am asking for military assistance to help Britons weather the effects of the storm.
Eighteen people lost their lives in the devastating storm, and four perished in France.
About 15 million trees fell, many falling on roads and railways, blocking traffic routes and causing waves of traffic chaos.
Thousands of people were without power for more than 24 hours as several power and telephone lines were destroyed, forcing officials to call more than 50 engineers from Cornwall and Carlisle.
A ship capsized at Dover and a Channel ferry was brought ashore near Folkstone, in the deadliest storm since 1703.
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What did Michael Fish predict in the weather forecast?
BBC weather watcher Michael Fish doesn’t exactly dismiss the Great Storm as anything but a hurricane.
In his lunchtime forecast 30 years ago, Mr Fish smirked and said: “Earlier today, a woman called the BBC and said she heard a storm was coming. the way to.
“I can assure everyone watching, no,” he said.
His forecast stated that it would be “a bit abrupt on the Channel”, leaving the Met Office under scrutiny by two independent reviewers.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17693452/how-strong-were-the-winds-1987/ How strong were the winds in 1987?
