"John Ross Mc Master" wrote in message
...
From the BBC so it must be the truth

BBC weather forecaster Michael Fish was left famously red-faced when,
on the eve of the Great Storm of 1987, he assured the British public
there would be no "hurricane".

Though he failed to predict a ferocious storm was about to turn north
and hit the UK, he was correct on the hurricane point.

Britain cannot experience hurricanes - the word is used for tropical
cyclones when they form in the Atlantic and north-east Pacific.

These are low pressure systems which develop over tropical or
sub-tropical waters - not the cold waters around Britain - which
become "cyclones" once wind speeds reach 74mph (119km/h).

If a hurricane did head for Britain it would be reclassified as an
"extra tropical storm" before arriving.

Such storms can be powerful - but even if the winds exceeded 74mph it
would not be called a hurricane.

In any case the storm currently expected to hit the UK is no such
thing. Far from forming over warm waters, it is expected to form close
to the coast before hitting the South West and heading across the
country.

The Beaufort scale classifies 74 mph+ wind speeds as "hurricane force" so
as far as I am concerned we had a hurricane.