Strong wind, 3 vodkas. During the afternoon the wind got worse and worse until it was blowing a gale - A12 blocked etc etc. It seems to have abated somewhat by now (12.59am) but it was f'amazing earlier. Lots of stuff on the news - death toll nearly 40 now. 5 at lunchtime, 20 at teatime, 23 by 7pm - even the 1987 storm only killed 20.

'The Burns' Day Storm on the 25th that affected the midlands and south. It lasted 8 hours, with winds peaking in the SW at dawn, and in the east at midday. It killed 47. (The death toll was higher in this storm than the Great Storm of October 1987 because this one occurred in the daytime.) It obviously caused major traffic and shipping disruption. There were inland gusts of 80 mph, although there were some gusts on the south coast around 100 mph. A wider area was affected than with the 1987 Great Storm.[...]