STORM Dudley is rampaging across Scotland today as severe weather warnings have been issued across the country.
As we try and stay safe indoors, it’s worth having a look back at some of Scotland’s worst and most famous storms.
Here’s a list of some of the most devastating since records began.
Cyclone Friedhelm (Hurricane Bawbag)
Hitting Scotland in 2011 on December 8, Friedhelm is best remembered for being affectionately dubbed “Hurricane Bawbag” by Scottish twitter users. The name was a viral sensation as it made headlines and trended worldwide.
American hurricane namers are lazy. They pick easy ones like "George" and "Kate". Only in Scotland could they come up with #HurricaneBawbag
— Stephen T Wilkie (@stephentwilkie) December 8, 2011
However, the storm was the first to merit a red level warning for wind in the UK. Its windspeeds reached a high of 165mph at the peak of the cairngorms with an average of 105mph on the ground.
Around 150,000 homes were thought to have lost power on the first day with 70,000 of those off into the night.
There was also widespread disruption to transport across the country. Rail services were acutely affected forcing a severely reduced timetable. One train was compelled to stop at Crianlarich by a forced line closure which left 64 people stranded.
Meanwhile, planes across the country were grounded with Glasgow Airport cancelling 37 flights and Edinburgh Airport calling 21 flights off.
Culbin Sands
In the Autumn of 1694, a fierce northwestern gale blew up the beaches by the mouth of the River Findhorn. Over the course of a few days, massive sand dunes swallowed the town of Culbin, including 16 farmhouses and the laird’s mansion giving the townsfolk just enough time to flee.
The sandstorm created a desert covering five square miles and rerouted the river leaving it impossible to identiy the location of the old village.
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Legends say that that the laird had been gambling his estates in a card game with the devil and that local women were hanged for witchcraft.
However, the prevailing modern theory is that the disaster was entirely man made. The vast swathes of Marram grass that bordered the beaches had a stabilising effect on the dunes and kept the beaches contained.
However, the townsfolk had been harvesting the plants for mats and thatching the village’s roofs. With the local crop of Marram depleted, the town was left helpless to the dunes.
Hurricane Low Q
This deadly 1968 storm was described as Scotland’s worst natural disaster since records began. The storm had been brewing out in the Atlantic before suddenly hurling 168mph winds up the mouth of the Clyde and devastating the central belt.
In the morning that it arrived, the storm killed 20 people with nine of those in Glasgow alone. Sadly, the deaths did not stop there with a further 30 dying while carrying out repairs. A further 700 people were left homeless.
Locals described the damage as being reminiscent of the scenes of the Clydebank blitz as 150 troops were called in from Edinburgh to help clean up in the aftermath.
Cyclone Daria (The Burns Day Storm)
Beginning on the auld poet's birthday, The Burns day storm was one of the strongest on record to hit Europe. While not as powerful as the others on this list, it packed a punch beyond its weight as it downed 3,000 trees and caused severe flooding.
The Met Office reported 47 deaths, with the number being so high due to the storm hitting during the day rather than at night when pepople are sleeping.
The storm was also the most expensive to UK insurance companies, costing £3.7 billion to the industry.
Boxing Day Storm 1998
During Boxing Day 1998, the Met Office reported gusts over 90mph with some locations recording winds over 100mph. 50,000 people were left without power for more than a day and some didn’t have power beyond the new year.
The Hunterston B Nuclear Power Station in Ayrshire was forced to shut down its reactors when they lost power. As power came back online, the generators did not automatically restart leaving the station to be powered by a battery system.
This meant the reactors were left without forced cooling, similar to the events of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
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