In the UK there have been many notable weather events for a country with a temperate and relatively comfortable climate for humans to live in. Famous storms in October 1987 killed 19 people and blew about 19 million trees down. Then again in January 1990 the Burns Day storm killed 47 people and left millions of pounds of damage.

In other parts of the world though storms can be far more deadly, having an impact on thousands of people. Floods in Bangladesh and Mozambique made millions homeless and killed an unknown number of people and livestock.

The most deadly American storm was the Galveston Hurrican of 8 September 1900. Between 10 and 12,000 people were killed by hurricane force winds and an ensuing tidal wave.