The wind hazard in the British Isles

and its effects on transportation

Allen Perry and Leslie Symons
Dqxpcrrtnwnt oj Geogrqhy,

Unir~ersit~ College SWY~~UCN.Sir&tor~

Park. S~~wlsec~. SA.? HPP. UK

The impact of severe wind episodes on both the travelling public and the transport network
operator is reviewed. The greatest impact is on road, air and sea transport and the examples of
storm-force
winds in 1987 and 1990 reveals the scale and nature of the disruption.
Improvements
to the format of weather forecasts and warnings is considered to offer some
prospect of reducing the hazard, but a databank of wind-related transport accidents is also
needed for planning and preliminary operational statistical analysis.

While the effect of strong wind and gales on the

building fabric is well documented
(by the Building
Research
Establishment)
the same is not true of
transportation.
Although
severe wind events. such
as the Burns Day Storm of 35 January
1990, can
cause many deaths. enormous
insurance
claims and
can disrupt transport networks.
such events are only
the most noteworthy
of more frequent and common
events
which occur each year. Hardly
a winter
season passes without gales causing overturning
of
vulnerable
vehicles at some time. The scale of the
problem
is, however.
little known and there is no
databank
in existence
from which lessons could be
learnt about susceptible
vehicles and geographical
locations.
Such a databank
could be of use in road
planning.
highway design and in providing
factual
evidence
to the police
contemplating
highway
closures during severe gale episodes. Until WC have a
nominated
body to collect information
on windrelated accidents.
most of our information
on how
wind can impact on transport
networks comes from
studying incidents during the well-documented
severe
gale episodes like those of October lYX7 and January
19YO.
Figures on the impact of wind on transport
arc
inevitably
highly influenced
by events
like the
January 1990 gales and the storm of October 1987 in
south-east
England.
Data on the average number of
events per annum based on a period of years before
these major events
are given in Ttrhlc 1. They
suggest that on average wind is a less important
climatic variable on the roads than ice. snow or rain.
and its major disruptive
influence
is on sea and air
transport.
These average figures do. however. throw
into relief the exceptional
nature ot the 1987 and
IYYOwindstorms
and the close temporal proximity of
132

Table I. Average number of events per annum

climatic variables affect UK transport system

in which major

these two events inevitably

raises the question as to
whether our climate is getting windier.
To attempt
to answer this question
it has been
found that annual windiness
across the UK has in
fact been in decline
since about
1950 but that
random fluctuations
in the long-term wind climate ol
the UK are to be expected (Hammond,
IYYI). The
occurrence
of X-day windy periods comparable
to
January/February
I990 was noted in winter/spring
lY67. lY74-75 and 198243. although the 1YYOwind\
which had return periods in excess of 300 years in
parts of southern
England were. at many locationx.
the strongest on record. In these circumstance?
It is
hardly surprising
that the storm death toll reached
46. the majority
being killed in transport-rclatcc1~
accidents.
Motor insurance
weather damage claim\
totalled 55 000. in JanuarviFcbruary
ls90 (Thornes,
1991). Most motorways
in southern
Britain were
closed for some hours. mainly hccausc high-sided
vehicles had been blown over. Over one million
trees were blown down.

The impact of wind

into two components:

on transport

can be divided

(1) the effect on land-based

termini and structures
such as seaports and airports, where operations
may be impeded
or actual damage caused to
infrastructure
and transport
media, eg aircraft.
Design criteria, better operating procedures
and
safety standard
legislation
as well as better
forecasting
of wind velocities
and. especially,
gusts, strength and duration may help to reduce
the impact at such points;
(2) in-transit
delays and damage to the means of
transport
itself. These essentially
operational
impacts affect most modes of transport.
In the remaining
sections of the paper, the authors
intend to discuss the impact of the wind hazard on
various modes of transportation.
The quantity
of
research
that has been
undertaken
has largely
dictated
the length
accorded
to each mode of
transport.

Road transport
The authors have already published
jointly reviews
of the wind hazard
(Perry
and Symons,
1991;
Symons and Perry, 1990) and this work will now be
summarized.
There are three main categories of wind hazards:

(1)

(2)

(3)

direct
interference
with a vehicle
through
the force of the wind, as a minimum
making
steering
difficult
but,
with sufficient
wind
strength,
overturning
the vehicle or pushing
it off the road or into the path of another
vehicle;
causing obstruction
by blowing snow. sand or
other material into the highway, blowing down
trees, parts of buildings and other debris: and
indirect effects such as causing build-up of snow
on lee slopes, creating conditions for avalanches,
danger to bridges, etc.

The British Transport

and Road Research
Laboratory (TRRL.
1975) put the threshold
wind speed
for danger to road vehicles generally at I5 m/s (53.6
km/h), gusting to 22 m/s (78.4 km/h). Winds in
excess of this average speed are not uncommon
in
Britain.
especially
on high ground.
Fortunately,
gusts of over 90 km/h are not common.
However,
the force exerted by wind on a vehicle is proportional to the square of the wind speed and to the area
of vehicles presented
to the wind so that /zig/z-sided
t&i&s
are in much greater
danger
than others
because of risk of loss of balance.
Stability of all
vehicles in motion is a complex problem in dynamics
because
of the sideways
overturning
moment,
oscillatory
forces at the rear of the vehicle and
turbulent
nature of low-level airflow and the eddies
induced
by the traffic itself. The sudden
gusts
induced
by the moving traffic may exacerbate
the

situation (Telionis,
1984). Overturning
accidents are
the most common
type of wind-induced
accidents
and in the 1990 storm 66% of accidents
involved
high-sided
lorries or vans. whilst only 27% involved
cars.
At the interface between the atmosphere
and the
ground surface,
friction reduces wind speeds and
makes the air turbulent,
showing
itself in sharp
fluctuations
in wind speed (gusts and lulls) and
changes
in wind direction.
Added
to all these
hazards, the sharp transitions
in velocity which occur
at tunnel mouths,
bridges,
etc. result in frequent
risks to the stability of high-sided
lorries, doubledecker buses, caravans
and motor-cycles.
Further
studies are required
of both driver behaviour
and
driver perception
of the high wind hazard.
Trees. walls, fencing panels and parts of buildings
may be blown directly on to vehicles or in front of
them in the roadway. In Britain, the most common
obstructions
caused by the wind are fallen trees.
Most roads, other than motorways and major routes
of near-motorway
status.
are fringed
by large
numbers
of trees and many country by-roads
and
lanes are overhung
by them. Trees are among the
principal
causes of the attractiveness
of the British
landscape
but they do cause problems
in stormy
conditions.
Branches and brushwood
are commonly
torn off trees by winds of 4G50 km/h. which are
common in Britain. while winds of 70 km/h upwards
threaten
whole trees, especially shallow-rooted
and
old ones.
The highway engineer will be concerned
with the
effect of wind on traffic using bridges. Wind-induced
accidents must be minimized
because of the danger
to the occupants of vehicles, the bridge itself and the
traffic flow.
The Severn Bridge, the principal road link between
England and South Wales, illustrates
the problems.
Records
of lane closure
on the Severn
Bridge
indicate that, in the 1980s:

(1) lanes

were closed because

of high winds on
average some 130 hours per annum on 20 days
annually;
the
lane closures occur almost entirely in autumn
(2)
and
winter,
with
December
and
January
accounting
for 65% of the closures:
of lane closure is about
(3) the average duration
seven hours, although some have exceeded 20
hours but nearly half are of three hours or less;
and
of the closures
occur between
(4) three-quarters
0600 and 2300 hours.
In addition,
high-sided vehicles are barred from the
bridge for about 2&25 hours annually.
In 1983 consulting
engineers
examined
corrosion
in the bridge, reported
that it might not survive a
wind speed of 160 km/h and recommended
that
traffic should be stopped when winds of 112 km/h
are forecast.
The original designers
of the bridge
123

admitted
that it was designed for a maximum
wind
speed of 160 km/h at carriageway
level. This figure
represents
the maximum three-second
gust expected
in the area with a 50-year return period.
Exposure in a given spot is a function of the local
topography
and wind field and its assessment
is
difficult (Baker.
1984). Anemographs
can be produced only by bulky and expensive
equipment
and
widespread
installation
of such equipment
cannot be
expected and would not be cost-effective.
particularly
bearing
in mind the varying
tracks
of storms.
Following
experiments
in the 1960s and 1970s with
Doppler radar, new commercial
wind-profiling
radar
offers important
possibilities
for analysing
wind
patterns
on the mesoscale,
complementing
radiosondes for meteorological
work, but it is unlikely
that there will be early applications
of revolutionary
technology
at the level of the individual
road in the
near future (Fleming and Hayenga,
1987).
For dedicated studies for new roads, realignments,
etc, studies of models in wind tunnels may be useful
though expensive.
an example being in the design of
the M62 motorway across the north of England, with
the resulting
provision
of a windbreak
(Rutter,
1968). A much less expensive method is to use tatter
flags. pioneered
in Britain by the Forestry Commission. which uses them to define planting
limits in
upland regions. The amount of areal loss or tatter of
these flags has been shown to be directly related to
the square of the mean wind speed at the site.
For operational
purposes
it is essential
to have
constant readings, preferably with automatic recording and warning devices. Cost is again, of course, the
problem,
but there is now an opportunity
to utilize
remote
sensing
stations
installed
for ice warning
purposes.
Present practice in relation to measuring
wind at such stations varies - in many cases wind
data are not recorded or transmitted
to the central
processing stations. In the case of the Findlay Irvine
network
established
in Wales,
wind speeds
are
measured and recorded at fixed times when data are
collected and made available to the Meteorological
Office for use in their road weather forecasts.
and
can be accessed at any time. Wind data from these
stations have probably been used in the past mainly
in relation to the likelihood of disturbed air reducing
the risk of freezing of the road surface but during the
1989-90 winter observers
at the University
College
of Swansea
found
some
interesting
material.
Immense
variation
was noted, with recorded
wind
speeds at the same time on 25 February varying from
around 8 km/h to over 70 km/h with no relationship
to relief but entirely related to the passage of the
storm.
Speeds of up to 90 km/h have been observed but.
unfortunately,
the readings are taken only at intervals
of 2.5 minutes and averaged over 30 seconds, thus
and
three-second
gusts. as used in engineering
construction
standards,
are not observable,
though
this could be altered by software changes at moder124

ate cost. As this lack of information

on the development of gusts clearly limits the usefulness
of the
information
available
at present, we should like to
see improvements
made to the software
for this
purpose.
Measures to rcducc the wind hazard, apart from
those of routeing.
etc, included at the design stage,
may be divided into the following categories.
Fixctl or perrm~rzerzt yrec~udom
These
include
artificial
wind breaks of all kinds such as slatted
fence5 which can achieve 50% reductions
of windspeed across a road, tree screens and solid parapets
to bridges (Hay, 1971).
Wind
breaks
can
have
undesirable
effects,
including
funnelling
and consequent
increase
01
winds from some directions,
snow drifting, sudden
changes from protected
and unprotected
sections 01
road and increase in the risk of icing from shadowing. They have. however. had considerable
success
and have an additional
advantage
of reducing
the
spread of motorway
noise.
It~formatiot~ am1 rvartzit~gs. Fixed
sign5 may be
valuable
a5 warnings
but tend to become ignored
over time. Electric signs have the advantage
that
they need appear
only when required
but the
disadvantage
that interruptions
to signals, such as
occurred
on
some
British
motorway5
during
the storms
of 1990, result
in their
complete
disappearance.
Radio broadcasts,
as with all other road information, have a particular
value but riced to be sent out
on all relevant
channels
and not just restricted
to
local radio which does not interest manv drivers and
is. in any case. difficult to tune to. Dedicated
traffic
broadcasts,
which an appropriately
equipped
radio
will automatically
monitor
and tune
to when
messages for drivers are broadcast.
are needed. Such
systems have been used successfully
in continental
Europe for many years hut in the UK their adoption
ha5 been much slower.
Closure

of roads

to all or certairl c~1u.s.se.s

of ~~chiclcs.

As already noted. bridges such as the Scvern, Tay

and others in Britain may be closed to all or to highsided traffic in high winds.
A two-level
control
system has been suggested
(Baker,
1987): gusts of
over 63 km/h should result in warning signs being
activated
and
high-sided
vehicles
restricted
to
35 km/h (22 mph), and with wind gusting over
80 km/h (50 mph) all vehicles should be stopped.
Such firm. some would say Draconian
controls, arc
not likely to be adopted
in Britain.
there being
virtually no effort by the police who complained
that
during the high winds in January and February
1990
lorry drivers were not observing their advice to slow
down, or. in the case of high-sided
vehicles. stop,
until winds abated to a less dangerous
level.
Information
to assist in planning routes may bc of

Motorways

--*s__

Gust speed
(knots).Once
in 50 year
return period

e
-.

--._

CT
I

Figure

1. The impact of the wind hazard

the 1987 and 1990 storms

on the road network.

exposed

100 km

sites, once in 50 year gust speeds

and the tracks of

value to drivers in enabling them to avoid hazardous

stretches of road. British Road Services has produced
a map to indicate the roads and stretches of road in
Britain considered
to be subject to particular winter
hazards ~ mist or fog, ice, surface water, snow,
drifting snow and cross-winds.
Although
on a small
scale (1:1,140.480), enabling the whole country to be
shown on one easily manageable
sheet. the attempt
to highlight
these hazards
is to be commended.
Figure I shows the wind clement from this map with
the addition of the generalized
tracks of the storms
referred
to above, and the gust speed over Great
Britain with a recurrence
period of SO years. The
map probably underestimates
the locations liable to
severe winds. Similarly hazardous
are the mountain
passes of Scotland,
Wales and northern
England,
and some roads in Cornwall
and other areas with
marked exposure.
Further field assessment of accident sites is needed.
Baker (198X) has developed a computer programme.
BLOWOVER,
to predict accident wind speeds at
specific locations.
Used in conjunction
with wind
exposure
surveys
it should be possible
to assess
dangerous
wind speeds at particular
points.
Between
1962 and 1980 over 100 people were
killed and nearly 700 injured on Britains roads as a
result of strong winds. Such figures seem alarming
initially yet. when compared with the overall causalty
rate, they account for fewer than 0. I %J of the total.
In individual
western and northern
counties which
have the highest frequencies
of strong winds over the
period 198(&90 wind-related
accidents accounted for
-l-6%, of the overall accident total (Edwards,
1994).

Air transport
In no other field of transport
is wind as critical and
potentially
dangerous
as in aviation.
A sudden
change
in wind direction
or gustiness
when an
aircraft is taking off or landing may precipitate
an
accident which may be fatal, and a change of wind at
altitude
may also have serious consequences.
A
sudden
cessation
of wind may also result in a
catastrophic
accident.
Less dramatically,
the direction and strength
of winds influence
the range of
aircraft
and an increased
headwind
may lead to
unexpected
diminution
of fuel reserves and the need
to seek a diversionary
airport which introduces
other
hazards,
such as landing
in unfamiliar
and illequipped
airports or in adverse weather conditions.
It is in the take-off and landing operations
that the
greatest hazards occur. This is found to be true when
all causes of accidents are examined but it is most of
all true in the case of weather-related
accidents.
Wind hazards range from a moderate gust across the
runway,
or the addition
of a four- or five-knot
tailwind
component,
to a microburst
associated
with a thunderstorm.
Windshear
is one of the most
dreaded words in the pilots vocabulary.
JLIIIC~.YAcrosoprrce Dictiowry
defines windshear
126

as Exceptionally
large local wind gradient
recognized
as an extremely dangerous
phenomenon
because
encountered
chiefly at low altitude
(in
squall or local front systems) in approach configuration at a speed where [it] makes a sudden
and
potentially
disastrous difference to airspeed and thus
lift (Gunston.
1980).
When the pilot encounters
windshear
everything
depends on his/her reactions within a second or two.
Changes occur so rapidly that rcpcatcd adjustment\
to the controls may be needed within the space of a
few seconds. One false move or wrong interpretation
of the situation
may be disastrous.
All pilots need
training
to deal with these problems.
Simulators
provide valuable opportunities
for airline and military
crews to cope with these. as with other emcrgcncics.
Pilots have been aware of the hazards ol strong
and changeable
winds and gusts from the very
earliest days of flying but the hazards of extreme
windshear
have only been recognized
since the late
1970s when accident investigators
were seaching for
causal factors to explain several spectacular
catastrophes, notably in the USA. It has become widely
recognized
that modern jet aircraft are particularly
vulnerable
to windshear accidents because the quest
for shorter take-off and landing distances
has left
aircraft with less reserve power to cope with sudden
changes,
such as diminution
of headwind
during
take-off.
or an unexpected
tailwind
component
during
landing.
If there is a sudden
change
of
direction from headwind to tailwind on either takeoff or landing there must be immediate
acceleration
to restore the airspeed, otherwise lift diminishes and
the aircraft will fly into the ground despite application
of other control measures.
The most extreme type of windshcar
is associated
with thunderstorms
which produce
violent downdraughts
near their centre,
to which the name
microburst
has been given. Following
extensive
research in the USA an advisory bulletin for pilots.
meteorologists.
air traffic controllers
and flight
operations
officers was produced
by ICAO (International Civil Aviation
Organisation).
It is recognized
that the time taken to discern
windshear
and take action is usually no more than
five to IS seconds.
Convective
activity,
thunderstorms. heavy rain and blowing dust arc all conducive
to windshear.
At 150 knots, the transit time of a microburst
some 4 km across is only about 45 seconds and in
that time an aircraft may be subjected
to multiple
wind changes of 6tMO knot velocities from headwind
to tailwind associated with violent downdraughts
of
up to 60 knots (Figure 2).
There are a number of measures that can bc taken
to reduce the dangers
from windshear.
At some
major airports Low Level Windshear
Alert systems
have been installed.
Basically
these consist of a
number of anemometers
placed around the airport
area providing data which are analysed by a computer

Aircraft starts losing headwlnd

Aircraft hlts core of mcroburst

and plcklng

Verttcal speed drops rapIdly

Aqxed

up downdraft

starts

Pilot lowers nose further to

to decrease

and pllot starts to lower nose

Aircraft leaves dow

to fmprove

Pilot rotates

talwlnd

Vertical s

d starts to lnclease

Core downburst
6000

7000 fpm (60kt)

Mawmum

gusts 70.

(22O-33 5 m)

Normal

rotation and Mtoff

Takeoff

prior to gust front

PIlot attempts

to malntaln

loon

above ground

V2+10

and when a pre-set level of differences

between their
readings is attained,
a warning is issued and passed
to pilots about to land or take off (Taylor,
19X8).
Research
carried out by a group of aerospace
cornpanics
and consultants
in the USA aims to
produce more sophisticated
and. especially.
better
airborne warning systems for dangerous
wind conditions (Kupcis. 1987; Higgins, IYM). Doppler radar,
which distinguishes
intensity of rainfall, rather than
merrly its presence, is one tool for both airborne and
ground use. If the picture is of very high precipitation. sudden development
of heavy rainfall, or of the
highest levels of precipitation
facing the aircraft on
approach,
the pilot must be prepared
for windshear
(Collins.
IYM). Even so, radar has the capability of
only limited penetration
of storms; its accuracy falls
off sharply with distance into the storm and it may
present
highly inaccurate
information
about
the
other side of the storm or of another storm further
away. Doppler radar has the advantage of measuring
the movement
of particles toward or away from the
radar site, indicating
where the wind is shifting and
when windshear
may occur. This still does not
overcome
the problems
caused by the rapidity of
change in and around storms. A review of current
developments
in this research and a summary of the
views expressed by the Civil Aviation Authority
has
been provided by Goold and Daly (1993).
Windshear
Alerting Services are available at some
airports in the UK. Forecasters
for London (Heath-

row) and Belfast

(Aldergrove)
airports
review
conditions
hourly and monitor reports of windshear
experienced
on approach
or climb-out.
Where a
potential
low-level
windshear
condition
exists an
alert is issued based on one or more of the following
criteria:

(3)

mean wind speed of at least 20 knots;

where
the magnitude
of vector
difference
between the mean surface wind and the gradient
wind (6 km feet) is at least 40 knots;
the presence
of thunderstorm(s)
or heavy
shower(s) within approximately
five miles of the
airport (AA/B Bulletin. 3/90, p. 9).

An example
of an accident
in which windshear
appeared
to play a significant
part was that to a
Shorts SD 3-60-100 landing at Bristol Airport on 20
December
1989. During the approach the crew were
warned
of adverse
conditions
including
thunderstorm activity to the east of the airport. The aircraft
commander.
because of the severe turbulence
that
was being experienced,
intended to cross the runway
threshold
at 10 knots above the selected
target
threshold
speed of 98 knots. On touch-down
the
aircraft bounced and on the second touch-down
the
landing
gear suffered
damage.
The aircraft
was
brought to a stop and there were no injuries.
The
report by the Air Accidents
Investigation
Board
noted that Bristol Airport did not have a Windshear
Alert Service. Had there been one an alert would
127

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have

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Rulleh
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examination

AA/R

of

Itz~wtiptiott

weight

many

especially

level

to aircraft

has

suffer

aircraft.

higher
those

Accidrrtt

attempt

the

the

accidents

Air

aircraft

do large

especially

divided

and Gx (S.

experience

advantages.
In

aircraft.

part

IO-1 (16.6%)

1O-1 weather-related

Many

than

of course,

other

light

were

in

wa\ the

turbulence,

of

its power

aeroplanes

ant in scvcn

of climbing

Icss excess

half

there

T~rhlc 2

four-engined

operating

loses

with

the most

operation\.

flying)

to be more

three-quarter\

engincs

first

not for

For

in man\i
w;i\

report,

Dealing

wind

In

incidents

cause

to be capable

which

other

partial

than

require

accident

many

that

there

to persons.

jet

are likely

(retaining

and

injury

accidents

of modern

i\ because

therefore

aircraft

one engine
that

out

damage

no

as

and 74 to rotorcraft).

better

condition\

This

are designed

engine

twin-engined
fact

in

engines.

and

be emphasized

listed

plancs

to be able to continue

engine,

damage

were

into

It should

events

the

(1986)

designed

the

despite

acceleration.

Collins

had
when

patterns.

have

sudden

cases of

be flown

better

wind

in

through

power

necessarily

hostile

to climb
fitted

helicopters).

safer

avoided

Nevertheless,

and great

types

few

by flying

aircraft

twin-engincd

with

bery
be

lighter

with

been

should

available

power

accident

comfortable

this

at surviving

because

this

generally

more

have

design
they

aircraft

are

are

if at all avoidable.

sophisticated

to

of

destroyed

though

possible.
storms

prior

aircraft

aircraft

weather.

large

issued

3190, pp. 5-9).

multi-engined

small

full

been

Rullctin

in

1990 and

accidents
(essentially

to

Probably
railway

the

most

structure

on 28 December
failure

in

exerting
likelihood
from

high

famous

was the
IX79
structure

loading

on

the

extensive

winds

(1) Overhead

to

arises

bridge

cabling

for

systems

on them.

track

itself.

The

could

fall on British

to
from

will

Trees
lines

Today
rail

the

service4

be disrupted
block

all tree\

is high

7ahle 2. Accidents to transport aircraft in the Ilh: 1990-92 (summer): relationship to wind and other weather elements

gusts

two sources:

may also

cost of removing
Rail

stray

spans.

principally

blown

Bridge

of an engineering

allow

disruption

trees

on

of the Tay

as a result

the
of

effect

failure

by
the
that

and would

(2)

result in a local amenity

loss. On Southern
Region alone the bill for felling 60 000 trees is
currently
put at 212 million; British Rail estimates that there are 75 000 acres of lineside
vegetation
along the rail network and in autumn
high winds can sweep leaves onto the track and
cause skidding and disruption
to trains.
Heavy spray on coastal routes can deposit salt
on insulators,
or make uses of coastal sections of
line such as those in south Devon and eastern
Scotland hazardous.

Wind alarm systems have been installed

at several
points on Scot Rail and trigger alarms which can
result in necessary actions like speed restrictions
or
the checking of wagon sheet security covers. Severe
gales may disrupt signalling and thus be hazardous to
train operations.
On 2 January 1976, the driver and
second man of a diesel locomotive
were killed when
they crashed into the back of a stationary
parcel
train near Worcester
as a result of a signal fault.
New lightweight
trains and trams could be overturned or derailed by extreme wind gusts and the
development
of such systems in some British cities
has required
a knowledge
of the aerodynamic
characteristics
of the train and the effect of cuttings
and embankments
in modifying
the wind field.
Blowing snow leading to drifting and the formation
of deep drifts can immobilize
train services and, in
the most severe episodes.
bury trains.
In Great
Britain these events are most frequent
in Scotland
and, as a result of several trains being trapped by
drifts in both 1978 and 1985 (Symons
and Perry,
1980; Perry and Symons.
1985). the installation
of
cab radio and the carrying of emergency supplies has
been initiated
on lines where the threat appears to
be significant.
More recently.
during
very cold
weather
in February
1991 in south-east
England,
fine, powdery snow was blown into mechanical
and
electrical
equipment
causing damage
to over 400
electric train motors. A report on railway performance at the time (Department
of Transport.
1991)
led to the implementation
of a number of technical
and operational
procedures
that might alleviate the
problem
in the future, although
it is clear that the
level of protection
against such conditions
has to be
based on an assessment of the likely return period of
such adverse conditions.

Sea transport
At sea the hazard posed by high winds, gales and
storms is at its most obvious.
Small vessels are
constantly
at risk and quite large vessels face dangers
in very bad weather even in open sea. Substantial
ferries
may be endangered
when entering
and
leaving harbour in high seas and deck personnel
are
constantly
at risk. Vessels are particularly
likely to
get into trouble if cargo shifts, if engine rooms are
flooded or if steering gear is damaged. Once a ship is

drifting without power in inclement

conditions
there
is often little that can be done, short of a tow. to
rescue it.
Britains coasts are littered with shipwrecks and it
was this problem
which led to the setting up of a
meteorological
service
in the UK in 3854. The
actions of the Royal National
Lifeboat Institution
and the use of aircraft and helicopters
in inshore
waters have helped to reduce the toll of lives from
merchant
ships in trouble
in coastal waters. New
types of craft such as wave-piercing
catamarans
and
jetfoils. now being introduced
on high-density
routes
like
the
English
Channel,
generally
become
inoperative
in high wind speed
situations
with
significant seas, as do hovercraft.
Drive-on. drive-off
passenger ferries have been involved in a number of
notable
storm-related
disasters.
During the severe
gale of 31 January
1953 the Stranraer-Larne
ferry
Princess Victoria had its car-deck
doors damaged
and the vessel was lost with 133 fatalities.
This
tragedy
led to the introduction
of new safety
measures to allow for greater resistance to wind and
storm hazards.

Conclusions
The preceding
sections serve to highlight the considerable influence
that high winds can have on the
UK transport
system and its component
parts. In
most years only a few days will be affected and only
very occasionally
is the scale of damage and disruption likely to be severe. Projected
global warming
may well be accompanied
by changes in the frequency
of storms. although it is by no means clear at present
whether more or less severe gales might be expected.
Although
the January
1990 storm remains fresh in
many peoples memory and clearly had a long return
period in southern and central England,
it would be
imprudent
to believe that a more severe storm could
not occur. The great storm of December
1703
probably exceeded in severity that of 1990 and in the
short period from 1664-1720 at least four exceptionally severe windstorms
occurred.
Since the poor forecasts of the 1987 storm by the
Meteorological
Office. the quality and accuracy of
forecasts
has improved
notably.
A new Meteorological Office National
Severe Weather
Warning
Service
(NSWWS)
has now
been
established
(Hymas, 1993). There are two tiers of warnings: Tier
I, warning of severe or exceptionally
severe weather;
Tier 2, warning of hazardous
conditions
(with the
severity of the weather less severe than in Tier 1).
Criteria for the issue of wind warnings are given in
Tdde 3.
From April 1992 Emergency
Flash Messages have
been introduced
when exceptionally
severe conditions are expected
to occur over a wide area. The
messages are intended
to receive prominence
from
the national
media.
129

Table 3. Criteria for the issue of wind warnings

Categor?

Tier

50 mph gu\ts

(72 rnk)
60 mph gu\t\
(77 Ill/\)

71) mph gu\t\

(31 Ill/\)
so mph

gu\t\

(ih m/s)

Given the infrequency

with which damaging highwind episodes occur. the importance
of providing
informative,
easily understood
forecasts
for both
travellers
and transport
network operatives
cannot
be over-emphasized.
Many accidents occur because
there is a failure to foresee the possible consequences
of conditions
which themselves
may have heen
accurately
forecast.
The issuing
of appropriate
warnings
and guidance
for expected
events in a
manner and format that the transportation
industry
and its users can best make use of is at least as
to forecast
the event
important
as the ability
accurately.

Acknowledgement
This research has been supported
by a fellowship
granted
to Professor
Symons by the Leverhulme
Foundation.

I30