It is now some 30 years since the “great storm’ which was (probably) the most ferocious weather event to arrive in the U.K in the last three hundred years.  Winds that reached 115 mph wreaked devastation across the southern parts of the country.  At the back of the weather front that brought this wind was a hook-shaped airstream - the “sting jet” which created particularly severe gusts of wind. Eighteen people died; and the repair bill was probably in the region of two billion pounds.  Amid the chaos of destroyed homes, blocked roads and railway lines, loss of power and telecommunications, it was estimated that some fifteen million trees were uprooted - in woodlands, forests, arboreta, parks and city streets. That October was wet so the roots of trees were sitting in sodden soil, and the leaves were still on the branches.  In consequence, when the gales / storm arrived the trees offered considerable resistance to the flow of  air so that they were literally torn from the ground.  It resulted in the loss of ancient (and modern) woodlands - and the damage to property and communications. Read more...