UK Weather Hazards 🇬🇧 (+ Beast From The East) Flashcards
What hazards does the UK currently experience?
- strong winds
- heavy rainfall
- snow and ice
- drought
- thunderstorms
- heat waves
What are the impacts of strong winds?
- damage to properties and disrupt transport
- uprooted trees and debris can injure and kill people
What are the impacts of heavy rainfall?
- flooding - damages homes, transport networks and drown people
- flood recovery costs lots of money
What are the impacts of snow and ice
- injuries due to slipping
- death from cold
- schools and businesses can be forced to shut, transport down (economic impacts too)
What are the impacts of drought?
- low water supplies, economic issues such as crop failure
- rules to conserve water have to be introduced
What are the impacts of thunderstorms?
- heavy rain, strong winds and lightning
- causes fires (lightning), damage property, occasionally kill people
What are the impacts of heat waves?
- pollution build up: heat exhaustion and breathing difficulties (kills people)
- roads can melt - transport disruption - economic impacts
How is the UK’s weather becoming more extreme?
Temperature:
UK’s ten hottest years have all occurred since 1990 (2021 being the hottest on record so far). Extreme cold events are also becoming more frequent - seven of UK’s coldest temps have occurred since 1980
Rainfall:
More rainfall records broken between 2010-2014 than in any decade on record. Major flooding events are more frequent - December 2015 - wettest on record
When was the Beast from the east (BFTE)?
February 28th - March 2nd 2018
Background information on BFTE?
- BFTE meets Storm Emma
- polar vortex, low pressure from Siberia
- temperatures dropped to -10ºC
- wind chill of -22ºC
- wind speeds exceeding 70mph
- 10 killed across country
- hundreds trapped on roads and motorways
- gas supplies ran low
Primary effects of BFTE?
- 15-20cm of snow fell over 3 days
- storm Emma brings strong winds
- snow drifts in excess of 7m in rural areas
- waves batter coastlines
- hundreds stranded for up to 36hrs on the M80 and A roads in Devon
- crops damaged
Secondary Effects of BFTE?
- UK issues with gas ‘deficit’ warning
- nhs cancelled non-urgent operations in clinics
- trains stranded overnight on tracks in Dorset
- thousands of homes left without power
- schools across the country closed for up to 3 days
- flights cancelled
Short term responses to BFTE?
- armed forces deployed to rescue drivers and get NHS staff to work
- Greggs delivery driver handed out cakes to stranded drivers
- community centres open for homeless people to shelter
- taxi firms offering to shop and fetch medicine/supplies for elderly people
- Met office issued ‘red’ weather warning to stop people from travelling
- snow ploughs, gritters and tractors go out in force to clear snow and roads
- government asked businesses to reduce gas usage over coming days
- Red Cross issues blankets/camp beds to stranded people at Glasgow airport
Long term responses to BFTE?
- little done and needed as event was rare and preparations limited
- met office reviewed effectiveness of warnings - found they were good
