MSGID: 1:317/3 64475772   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    120-year-old storm's secrets key to understanding weather risks    
      
     Date:   
         April 24, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Reading   
     Summary:   
         The conversion of handwritten weather records into digital   
         information will help weather better understand future weather   
         risks.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   A severe windstorm that battered the UK more than a century ago produced   
   some of the strongest winds[OS1] that Britain has ever seen, a team of   
   scientists have found after recovering old weather records.   
      
   Old weather measurements, first recorded on paper after Storm Ulysses   
   hit the UK in February 1903, have shed new light on what was one of the   
   most severe storms to have hit the British Isles.   
      
   By turning hand-written weather data into digital records, the research   
   team has laid the way to better understand other historical storms,   
   floods and heatwaves. These observations from the past can help experts   
   to understand the risks of extreme weather now and in the future.   
      
   Professor Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist at the University of Reading   
   and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, led the research. He   
   said: "We knew the storm we analysed was a big one, but we didn't know   
   our rescued data would show that it is among the top four storms for   
   strongest winds across England and Wales.   
      
   "This study is a great example of how rescuing old paper records can   
   help us to better understand storms from decades gone by. Unlocking these   
   secrets from the past could transform our understanding of extreme weather   
   and the risks they pose to us today."  Into the archives Published today   
   (Monday, 24 April) in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, the   
   research indicates that many storms that occurred before 1950 are left   
   unstudied as billions of pieces of data exist only on paper, stored in   
   archives around the world.   
      
   But a team of scientists led by Professor Hawkins delved into the   
   archives to convert hand-written observations relating to Storm Ulysses   
   from paper to digital. The cyclone caused multiple deaths and heavily   
   damaged infrastructure and ships when it passed across Ireland and the   
   UK between 26 and 27 February 1903.   
      
   Using the new digital data, the research team was able to use techniques   
   similar to modern weather forecasting to simulate the storm and accurately   
   assess the strength of Storm Ulysses' winds. Comparisons with independent   
   weather observations, such as rainfall data, as well as photographs and   
   written accounts from 1903 that outlined the devastation caused by the   
   cyclone, helped to provide credibility for the reconstruction.   
      
   The reanalysis is beneficial for understanding the risks of extreme   
   weather events as it showed that the winds experienced in some locations   
   during Storm Ulysses would be rarer than once in 100 years. Having   
   information about such a rare event provides valuable insight into the   
   potential damage a similar storm could cause now in the future.   
      
   The 1903 storm is named Storm Ulysses because the damage to thousands   
   of trees in Dublin is mentioned in the novel Ulysses by James Joyce,   
   the events of which are set the year after the storm.   
      
   Rescuing the weather The rescuing of atmospheric observations related to   
   Storm Ulysses is not the first time Professor Ed Hawkins has led weather   
   record recovery. National rainfall data from as far back as 1836 became   
   available in 2022 after the University's Department of Meteorology and   
   16,000 volunteers helped to restore 5.2 million observations.   
      
   The Rainfall Rescue project provided more context around recent changes   
   in rainfall due to human-caused climate change.   
      
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             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Severe_Weather # Weather # Storms # Geomagnetic_Storms   
             o Fossils_&_Ruins   
                   # Early_Climate # Fossils # Origin_of_Life # Evolution   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Severe_weather_terminology_(United_States)   
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   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Reading. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Ed Hawkins, Philip Brohan, Samantha N. Burgess, Stephen Burt,   
      Gilbert P.   
      
         Compo, Suzanne L. Gray, Ivan D. Haigh, Hans Hersbach, Kiki   
         Kuijjer, Oscar Marti'nez-Alvarado, Chesley McColl, Andrew   
         P. Schurer, Laura Slivinski, Joanne Williams. Rescuing historical   
         weather observations improves quantification of severe windstorm   
         risks. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 2023; 23 (4):   
         1465 DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-1465-2023   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230424103422.htm   
      
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