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January the 24th holds the dubious record of the highest wind gusts in the area of recorded data for the region. The Bristol Evening Post describes the events of that day as the 'worst hurricane to hit the region for 30 years.'
On January the 25th the local papers reported the storm as the worst weather disaster to hit Britain since 1703. 'The killer winds', the paper went on, 'are the worst on record. Although not as fierce as October 1987, (this region did not feel the full force of that famous storm), last night's storm was more widespread'. Destruction was over a large part of the country with 120 mph winds in Cornwall, 110 mph at Lands End, 106 mph on Dartmoor, 100 mph on the Dorset Coast, 97 mph along the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth, 94 mph at Gloucester, 93 mph on Salisbury Plain and 91 mph in Bristol.
As is often the case the storm came from a deep depression in the Atlantic Ocean. Initially there were reports of seven people killed by the gales but by the 29th of January this figure had risen to 48 deaths nationally. At the height of the storm Bristol Royal Infirmary dealt with more than 60 casualties in under three hours. During the day of the storm fire-fighters in the area were called out to 472 incidents.
In the West Country as a whole an estimated 100,000 home were without power. By the following day the figure stood at 220,000 and 40,000 of these were in Avon and many in North Bristol. As well as many houses being without power, 3,000 in the south and east of the City also had no water. Almost one week later there were still several thousand homes without power.
Clevedon lost all its telephone lines and the transport infrastructure in the region seems to have been particularly badly hit. Bristol's airport at Lulsgate was a typical example where a small airliner was blown over while taxing up to the terminal building and part of the building itself had it's roof collapse. Other small planes were tipped over and the whole terminal was blacked out.
Many roads were impassable due to fallen trees, but the M5 between Taunton and Portbury was closed because of accidents involving articulated lorries. The Severn Bridge was not surprisingly closed as was the High Street at Hanham due to the danger of a house collapsing in the wind. On the M4 things were no better, here a lorry had smashed through the parapet at the A46 turn off and was left dangling over the motorway.
Bristol's main station, Temple Meads, was evacuated and Inter City services cancelled as the high winds threatened to rip off the roof. Frome station was still closed the following day. Structural damage was widespread as many children who couldn't go to school will happily testify. At Bedminster Down school, Bristol, 500 children were sent home as the storm damaged the roof. More dramatically the roof at St Brandon's school, Clevedon, collapsed and fell through a conservatory killing one pupil and injuring another four.
At Swindon a collapsing school roof killed a pupil and seriously injured another. At an army base at Colerne an 11 month baby died in the arms of her father as the wind ripped off part of the roof.
In the same town a wall of a hairdressers collapsed. In Gloucester Cathedral a victorian stained glass window was blown into the church. At Weston-super-Mare the police ordered people off the streets and double deck buses were halted as tiles and chimney pots rained down. More than 30 pensioners were given first aid as they fell in the shopping centre.
Six machines at the Helicopter museum at Locking were blown over causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. At Taunton the Rugby club's grandstand was demolished and two four storey blocks of flats at College Way lost their roofs.
A temporary home at Saltford collapsed in the gale and the couple whose home it was had a narrow escape. At Corsham another couple were lucky to survive as they had just left their home when a falling tree crushed it. The M4 motorway was closed when giant high voltage cables crashed across the carriageways. At Bath United hospital 120 people needed treatment throughout the day and at 'Rainbow Wood' destruction was on a major scale with up to 20,000 trees damaged. Victoria Park did not suffer so badly but even here 75 trees were lost.
In the centre of Bristol a twenty foot window was blown in at the Bristol United Press building. A similar event at John Lewis's department store led to 20 people being taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary. As an eye witness recorded in Parrys Lane, Bristol, 'tiles were flying through the air like Frisbees.' Mrs Pratt at Whitchurch records. 'What a day, tiles off roofs, trees, fences and power-lines down'. She could hardly stand as she tried to cross Hengrove Way, Bristol.
A visiting friend and herself couldn't hear themselves speak as the wind was roaring down the chimney. 'We watched paper, leaves and bric-a-brac being blown about and aerials blowing off the chimneys'. On the coasts yachts and small craft were ripped from their moorings and larger ships were stranded at sea unable to get into port according to the Western Daily Press.
In times gone by charities and local funds used to be set up to help those in distress from natural disasters. It is perhaps a sign of the times that almost immediately after the January storm thousands of people had put in insurance claims. The Government confirmed that there would be cash help for the councils in the affected areas.
Bookmakers William Hill were reported as stopping taking bets on the British record of 36.7'C (98-F) set in 1911 being broken this year. On the 1st of August five people were treated in hospital at Weston-super-Mare due to severe sunburn or shoppers who had collapsed.
For most of us it was perceived as a good year but an excess of sunshine and hot temperatures can lead to a potential hazard in urban areas. The problem of rising ozone levels near the ground was a problem on some of the summer's days and on the 1st of August the Bristol Evening Post reported that traffic congestion and the hot weather, 'have pushed the ozone levels beyond safety limits.' The temperature on that particular day was 27.2'C (81'F) at midday and still rising. The following day the afternoon temperature had reached a 'sweltering' 32.2'C (90'F) and was the hottest day of the year so far. At this time it was reportedly hotter in Bristol than the Costa Del Sol in Spain.
The Bristol Meteorological Office were reported in the Bristol Evening Post as saying the temperature in the next couple of days may reach 34.4'C (94'F) which would be a Bristol record but there is a recording of 35°C (95-F) in Clifton in July 1923. In any event the predicted temperature was not reached but only by a hare's whisker because on the Friday of the 3rd of August, the same day as Cheltenham's UK record, it managed to sore to an amazing 34.2°C (93.6'F) in the City.
Drought conditions reached their severest on November the 13th when local reservoirs were down to 11% of their capacity and the drought became 'official'. People had managed to reduce consumption by 15 million litre per day which helped enormously in reducing the severity of the problem.
If it had not been for the January storm, the high winds of late December would have made more dramatic news as there were some very strong gusts including the record breaking 102 mph on the Severn Bridge. Conditions were not quite so severe in Bristol where the maximum gust was a little under 74 miles per hour. Some places in the West however had gusts above 90 mph for the second time in a year and the damaging winds ruined Christmas for thousands as trees were sent crashing through roofs.
Heavy rainfall raised the water by one foot in six days at Chew Valley lake. At the nearby village of Chelwood, by the A37, a whirlwind struck. There were two further reports of whirlwinds at Cheddar and Whorlebury. It appears these were accompanied with short lived but violent thunderstorms which were recorded by a Mr Weeks at Yatton. Bristol firemen received over 100 calls and as well as cut off power lines the lights of the Clifton Suspension bridge were knocked out. At nearby Leigh Woods residents of luxury flats were trapped for 90 minutes when a fallen roof wedged against the front door.
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