Storm Debi? – A Strong Breeze! – Iowa Climate Science Education

By Paul Homewood

Yet again we find that a normal autumn storm has been blown out of all proportion:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/13/power-cuts-and-flooding-as-storm-debi-brings-70mph-winds-to-uk-and-ireland

According to this Guardian article, for instance, “Storm Debi has brought gusts of more than 70mph to parts of the UK”. Meanwhile the “Independent” talks of streets turning to rivers and dangerous winds.

https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/storm-debi-amber-warning-uk-winds-b2446345.html

And we even have the Met Office issuing a yellow warning for thunderstorms!

Rainfall certainly was not exceptional, with the highest daily total of 53mm high up on Shap.

As for winds, the only places in to see 70 mph gusts were the usual mix of highly exposed sites on cliff tops and so on:

Aberdaron is an interesting case in point. The weather station there is at an altitude of 86m just a couple of hundred of yards away from the cliffs.

It sits at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula, which itself is a notoriously windy area, stuck out into the Irish Sea.

There is however a private weather station only about three miles way, near Capel Carmel:

As the map shows, it is not as close to the cliff tops, and crucially it sits at 57m above sea level. Here, the maximum gust yesterday was 44.1 mph, and the highest average speed was 38.7 mph:

http://aberdaronweather.co.uk/yesterday.htm

Away from the Llyn and in lower lying areas, average winds in North Wales peaked at around 30 mph, a Strong Breeze according to Beaufort. This would indicate gusts up to around 40 mph:

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@2639409/historic

Similar numbers were recorded at Denbigh and Hawarden.

Coincidentally we had similar winds here in Sheffield around the time I took the dog round our dam. Somehow we got home in one piece!

The many headlines saying that Britain was hit with 70 mph winds are grossly misleading. Hit with 40 mph winds might have been closer to the truth.

But the media are only taking their cue from the Met Office who refuse to report anything other than these highly unrepresentative sites.

We know of course why they do it – to crank up climate alarm. They even had the nerve to use the wind measurements on the Needles in their monthly extremes last month: