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09-02-2020, 01:52 PM
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Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

After getting battered by yet another storm (Ciara) I wondered if storms are getting worse or is society getting more fragile?

I keep thinking back to the fifties as I was growing up.
Just another windy day forecast, it never even deserved a name. Only the rich flew anywhere so it didn't matter that flights were cancelled. Nobody where I lived could even afford to go abroad on the ferry, so that never was a consideration.

In fact, hardly anyone had a car except the local doctor so it didn't matter if the roads were flooded. Everyone worked within a couple of miles of where they lived so could walk or cycle to work. And on a Sunday (like today) nobody worked at all except the vicar.

No phones (landlines) and if there was a power cut it didn't matter too much because everyone cooked and warmed the house with a coal fire. And the telly, at the end of the fifties didn't start programmes until five'ish...And nobody watched it much anyway, preferring the radio for the news...

So do the storms seem to have got worse because they now have a far greater impact on 21 century life than they used to?
Is it because we have 24 hour news and weather and are constantly reminded how bad it is?
Or was it because I was only young and didn't take any notice? Just another windy day to me in those days......
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09-02-2020, 02:13 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

Global warming, it was forecast many years ago that unpredictable weather would be more frequent and more severe
Now it’s starting to happen
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09-02-2020, 02:18 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

The worst storm was in1987. I just think that they are getting more frequent.
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09-02-2020, 02:37 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

I remember staying in a caravan in the early eighties and thinking that it was possibly the end of the World. There was a huge storm with high winds, flooding and some damage. It wasn't the end of the world of course but a storm like that was not unusual, it's just that it didn't have a name.
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09-02-2020, 02:44 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

Och,if You haven't walked Home from School/work in a snow blizzard,Ye haven't lived,same with heavy fog when You couldn't see a hand in front of Yer face..anyhoo..these American sounding storms are all Meghan Markels fault so I hear
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09-02-2020, 02:47 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

Originally Posted by May ->
Och,if You haven't walked Home from School/work in a snow blizzard,Ye haven't lived,same with heavy fog when You couldn't see a hand in front of Yer face..anyhoo..these American sounding storms are all Meghan Markels fault so I hear


I know, what sort of name is that?... Ciara (I can't remember how to pronounce it).
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09-02-2020, 02:52 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

1953

Storm of the century

The great storm of 1953 was Britain's worst peacetime disaster on record claiming the lives of 307 people.

With no severe flood warnings in place and phone lines down, people were completely unaware of the devastation which was about to hit them. The storm surge – a combination of gale-force winds, low pressure and high tides – brought havoc to over 1,000 miles of coastline and 32,000 people were displaced because of flooding. The event led to an official service for the forecast of coastal flooding and eventually the creation of the Thames Barrier.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-of-t...ritain/zfk2kmn
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09-02-2020, 03:06 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

That link was very interesting Omah .... I love stuff like that

The winter of 62/63 was a real severe one ... the Thames froze and people cycled on it to work. Boris would have loved the new cycle lane.

I think the media just ramps it all up now.
I seem to recall cold winters with lots of snow in the 60's and 70's .... and a couple of particularly bad ones after MT Helena went up in 1980.
After that, less snow, and the late 80's and 90's saw storms and the noughties and teens seem to be dominated by flooding.
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09-02-2020, 03:30 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

Originally Posted by Morticia ->
The winter of 62/63 was a real severe one ... the Thames froze and people cycled on it to work. Boris would have loved the new cycle lane.
Aye, tha wa proper snow:



an no double-glazin, central-heatin nor proper clothes neether. Just ya wellies an a flat cap.



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09-02-2020, 03:34 PM
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Re: Are Storms Getting Worse or is Society more Fragile

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->


I know, what sort of name is that?... Ciara (I can't remember how to pronounce it).
Try 'Sierra', as in the Ford car model name.
 
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