There's a lot of weather around. Last weekend brought Storm Ciara to the UK. Next weekend we'll get Storm Dennis.
There were fence panels down in our garden and a tree has blown down within sight of the house. The forecast was indicating gusts up to 66mph (57kn). It was noisy indoors.
Ciara seemed much stronger than usual, but how does it compare?
I have data for several weather stations going back to the start of 2017 (source: MetOffice WoW). My preferred weather stations are RAF Benson and RAF Brize Norton because they seem most likely to produce reliable results. Air fields tend to be in flatter, more exposed places so the wind gusts are probably as high as they'll be for that region. Urban wind patterns, and those for a valley like Oxford, may be lower. Unfortunately I don't have data for central Oxford and my urban data series (Headington, Bicester) are not continuous for the same period.
For comparison (values > 40 in bold):
| month | RAF Benson | RAF Brize Norton | Bicester AF | Headington |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2017 | 32.2 | 38.2 | 21.2 | NA |
| Feb 2017 | 49.5 | 44.3 | 32.5 | NA |
| Mar 2017 | 35.6 | 32.2 | 25.1 | NA |
| Apr 2017 | 29.5 | 31.3 | 18.5 | NA |
| May 2017 | 29.5 | 28.7 | 19.2 | NA |
| Jun 2017 | 37.4 | 33 | 28.4 | NA |
| Jul 2017 | 31.3 | 28.7 | 21.8 | NA |
| Aug 2017 | 26.9 | 21.7 | 18.5 | NA |
| Sep 2017 | 40 | 35.6 | 19.2 | NA |
| Oct 2017 | 39.1 | 39.1 | 25.1 | NA |
| Nov 2017 | 38.2 | 38.2 | 23.1 | NA |
| Dec 2017 | 40.8 | 34.8 | 25.1 | NA |
| Jan 2018 | 53.9 | 42.6 | 27 | NA |
| Feb 2018 | 37.4 | 33.9 | 21.8 | NA |
| Mar 2018 | 35.6 | 37.4 | 27 | NA |
| Apr 2018 | 34.8 | 29.5 | 26.4 | NA |
| May 2018 | 29.5 | 27.8 | 42 | NA |
| Jun 2018 | 28.7 | 28.7 | 21.2 | NA |
| Jul 2018 | 33.9 | 32.2 | 19.2 | NA |
| Aug 2018 | 32.2 | 26.9 | 17.9 | NA |
| Sep 2018 | 40 | 37.4 | 23.1 | NA |
| Oct 2018 | 42.6 | 38.2 | 21.2 | NA |
| Nov 2018 | 48.7 | 37.4 | 31.7 | NA |
| Dec 2018 | 39.1 | 31.3 | 22.5 | NA |
| Jan 2019 | 33.9 | 38.2 | 23.1 | NA |
| Feb 2019 | 40.8 | 42.6 | 25.9 | NA |
| Mar 2019 | 47.8 | 45.2 | 31.7 | 24.3 |
| Apr 2019 | 40 | 35.6 | 25.1 | 19.1 |
| May 2019 | 28.7 | 27.8 | 49.8 | 25.2 |
| Jun 2019 | 33.9 | 32.2 | NA | 15.6 |
| Jul 2019 | 33 | 25.2 | NA | 21.7 |
| Aug 2019 | 40 | 34.8 | NA | 20.9 |
| Sep 2019 | 34.8 | 33 | NA | 18.2 |
| Oct 2019 | 37.4 | 33.9 | NA | 22.6 |
| Nov 2019 | 42.6 | 37.4 | NA | 21.7 |
| Dec 2019 | 37.4 | 37.4 | NA | 23.5 |
In terms of the absolute gust strength storm Ciara doesn't look much bigger than Feb 2017 or March 2019.