The UK has firmly entered the 2025 storm season with Storm Éowyn forecasted to bring gusts of up to 90mph.
Gales threaten to batter the country, and to bring power cuts, travel disruption and damage to buildings, while heavy rain is also expected.
As weather predictions for the start of the year look bleak, the Standard looks back at some of the worst storms Britain has ever seen over centuries.
The Great Storm, 1703
The Great Storm of 1703, branded a hurricane, lasted for more than a week across the UK, with Southern England affected worst of all – but its impact lasted much longer, with between 8,000 and 15,000 people killed.
Conditions led to infrastructure being destroyed as trees were damaged. Some 2,000 chimney stacks were affected across London and 4,000 New Forest oak trees.
The storm, infamous for wreaking havoc, led to greater cost of property damage than even the Great Fire of London of 1666 incurred, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.
The Great Blizzard, 1891
The Great Blizzard brought with it severe gales and a tremendous amount of snow fall, causing blizzards across Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset. Snow drifts several feet high were left outside people’s homes and the weight of snow caused many roofs to collapse.
Some reports indicate more than 200 people were killed, along with 6,000 animals. The ferocious storm of March 1891 didn’t see the ice melt fully until June of that year.
One Victorian documented the experience of living through the ferocious storm and wrote in their journal: “On the morning of 9 March 1891 when the inhabitants of the three westernmost counties in England set about preparing for the routine duties of daily life, nothing seemed to indicate that, with the approach of nightfall, the gravest atmospheric disturbance of the century ... would come to spread terror and destruction throughout town and country ..."
The Big Freeze, 1962/63
1962-63 saw one of the coldest winters (December, January, and February) on record, as snow took more than 60 days to thaw.
So it’s hardly surprising that thermometers plunged below -18°C.
Marian Lowe, from Norwich, previously told ITV about her memories of that winter: "What [I] remember most of all is how long it went and how bitter it was.
"Even in the city, it was deep at the side of the road and, when we visited friends in the country, it must have cut through 10 or 12 feet deep.”
The Great Storm, 1987
One of the most notorious storms to hit the UK to date remains The Great Storm of 1987, which occurred after weather models predicted an unclear picture in the days beforehand.
Forecaster Michael Fish famously said during the evening bulletin that: "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't!" He was never allowed to forget it.
The storm saw winds gusting at up to 100mph as it ravaged through the UK in the night – and the chaos resulted in a total of 18 deaths.
Buildings were damaged by winds or falling trees while numerous small boats were wrecked or blown away.
Storm Ciara, 2020
Storm Ciara swept across the country in February 2020, with torrential rain and winds recorded at 97mph.
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power, homes were evacuated and buildings were hit by devastating damage.
It came after more than 200 flood warnings were issued across England.
