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Storm und drang: Where to experience the most tempestuous weather in the UK

Our word “storm” is derived from the old High German “Sturm”, which means stirring or whirling - Getty
Our word “storm” is derived from the old High German “Sturm”, which means stirring or whirling - Getty

Turner’s ‘Land’s End, Cornwall’ is painted in the tumultuous, quasi-apocalyptic style for which he is rightly admired. Our first impression is of meteorological disorder, even disaster, yet there is a dark symmetry between the wedge-shaped shelf of cloud that approaches and the green triangle of land sloping down to the bruise-blue sea; the only half-detail is foaming whitish water that froths around a brown block of rocks.

Turner's painting
Turner's painting

Our word “storm” is derived from the old High German “Sturm”, which means stirring or whirling. The Sturm and Drang literary movement was interested in expressing and generating emotion and exalting nature. That’s the thing about storms: the purple vortices and whirling, bubbling clouds that herald their onset are met with something similar in our imaginations and hearts. It’s partly because, back in the days when we lived in caves and straw dwellings, cataclysmic weather could spell the end of our livelihoods, and even our lives. That’s why some people are astraphobes, reacting to extreme thunder and lightning with correspondingly extreme fear.

That word Sturm captures the spirit of all this, but I’m not sure that Dennis does, or Brendan, or Deirdre. These are just some of the names we’ve had to get used to since the Met Office started naming storms in 2015, with the arrival of Abigail. Practical as this may be, and media-friendly as it certainly is, the naming of a turmoil is anti-romantic. “Drang” means stress; do the data-crunchers really think treating major weather events as friendly aunts and uncles will make us relax?

Truly great British storms occur infrequently. The Met Office’s Very British Weather mentions the storm of November 26 1703, which caused destruction across Wales, Bristol and the Midlands and inspired Daniel Defoe’s The Storm; the 1859 Royal Charter Gale in the Irish Sea, which led eventually to what we now call the Shipping Forecast; and the ‘Great Storm of 1987’ which toppled 15 million trees and blew a Channel ferry ashore.

Inspecting the damage after the storm of 1987 - Getty
Inspecting the damage after the storm of 1987 - Getty

We’ve had the Beaufort Scale since 1805 but the more technical aspects of storms – jet streams, wind shear, weather bombs, storm surges, Spanish plumes – were only grappled with in the 20th century. Because the UK is ahead of most other countries in the science of weather, even rare events have been recorded and identified on our shores; for example, the first supercell thunderstorm was described not in Oklahoma or South Dakota, but in Wokingham on July 9, 1959.

We're not in Wokingham anymore - Getty
We're not in Wokingham anymore - Getty

Most UK meteorologists get a buzz out of local storms and other extreme events. But stormy weather is easier to source in other countries. It can be the highpoint – or most memorable moment – of a holiday.

“I once got caught up in a full on tropical storm whilst on Raratonga in the Cook Islands,” says BBC weather forecaster Emily Wood.

“I have never experienced anything like it – every time the thunder rumbled the ground shook, we started to make a run for it to get back to the hostel, but not before we saw lightning hit the ground not too far from where we were on the road. Since then I’ve been much more wary about being out in a storm, even our more standard British storms.

“I still enjoy a storm viewed from inside. I now know the most common form of lightning is cloud-to-cloud, not cloud-to-ground, so that gives me some comfort. Thunderstorms are also the reason why hail is more common here in summer rather than winter, the heat that gives energy to a summer storm and the resulting up draughts in the cumulonimbus carry water droplets high enough so they freeze and once they grow large enough to begin falling, they can speed towards the earth as fast as 90 mph.

“So if you are brave enough to venture out in a storm, even the summer, your light waterproof jacket might not be enough to protect you from a hammering of hailstones.”

Hailstones are a summer phenomenon - Getty
Hailstones are a summer phenomenon - Getty

Though you may prefer the King Lear “naked wretches” approach – and to dress down, or go naked, to fully experience the power of a “pitiless storm”.

The planet has a handful of go-to storm-centres. Lake Maracaibo, in Venezuela, is lightning capital of the world. Tornado Alley in the US gets the spinners and cow-lifters. Salta in Argentina is superb for malevolent Andean mountain systems and Noahic rain. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Cameroon, Pakistan: these are the foreign lands where electrical skies shimmer and shake.

Back in the temperate, generally tame UK, we have a few options. Norwich claims to be the thunderstorm capital of England, as does Cornwall, as does Cumbria. The Scottish islands get the force 11 and occasional force 12 (i.e. hurricane force) winds. Orkney and Shetland routinely report big weather and high waves. It all leads back to Turner and the maritime realities of living on a slender island; storms can happen anywhere, because everywhere is near to the coast. Land’s End is a sure bet as it is particularly thin, especially exposed, and jutting out west, towards the origin of most of our weather.

Norwich claims to be the thunderstorm capital of Britain  - Getty
Norwich claims to be the thunderstorm capital of Britain - Getty

Darcy, from the east – which is still moving through – was a bit of a disappointment on the tumult-ometer. Snowstorms, while providing a nippy chill on the air and the fun of flakes, don’t deliver the whorls and hell-holes, the fisting winds, the trollish rumbles and electrical forks. Perhaps the name on this occasion is apt. The Darcy of Jane Austen was romantic but aloof, cold and passive-aggressive. Valentine’s Day is coming and E follows D; maybe moody Darcy will meet his Elizabeth, rolling in from the West, ironic, quick-witted, unconventional and unpredictable.