Storms

February is turning into a stormy month. Last weekend, we were hammered by the fore-runner to Storm Ciara, which left a trail of destruction across much of the United Kingdom. This weekend, it will be Storm Dennis. Last Saturday (8th), winds gusted at 80 mph. Ciara blew at 95 mph in Wales on Sunday. It was followed by snow and floods. Dennis is winding itself up in mid-Atlantic, and will bring hurricane force winds to Iceland. Its lowest central pressure will be around the 920 mbar point, which is close to the all-time low of 916 mbar, observed in 1993. On Sunday morning, the barometer in Stornoway dropped to 948 mbar. The barometer pictured below is showing 0.1 inch too low; it should be showing 28 inches.

This week also saw springtides, exacerbated by low barometric pressure (which causes storm surge) and the very windy weather. The high tide on Tuesday morning rose to 5.3 metres in Stornoway, which prompted some overtopping of quays and river flooding between Bayhead and the Porter's Lodge. It was sandbags at dawn, but they were not required to prevent damage to property.