What was the worst thunderstorm to hit Britain?
On 7th June 1996, following an early heatwave with temperatures of 33 C in London, spectacular thunderstorms deposited huge hailstones, typically 25 to 50mm across, along a series of swaths which included several meduim to large towns such as Sherborne (Dorset), Salisbury (Wiltshire), Cambridge and Luton. There was extensive damage to glasshouses, vehicle bodywork, etc. The Burns’ Day Storm is one occurring on 25–26 January, 1990, over the British Isles north-western Europe, and is one of the strongest storms on record. The Great Storm of 1703 and was the most severe storm or natural disaster ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain. It affected southern England and the English Channel in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A 120-mph (193-km/h) “perfect hurricane”, it started on 24 November, and did not die down until 2 December 1703. A more recent storm, also called ‘The Great Storm’, would be The Great Storm of 1987 occurring on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually
