Storm Eleanor’s “100 MPH Winds” – Fake News From The Telegraph

By Paul Homewood | Not A Lot Of People Know That | January 3, 2018

Storm Eleanor has lashed the UK with violent storm-force winds of up to 100mph, leaving thousands of homes without power and hitting transport links.

Gusts of 100mph were recorded at Great Dun Fell in Cumbria at 1am.

Wow! Hurricane force winds, as has been reported elsewhere.

Only one slight problem though. Great Dun Fell is the second highest mountain in England’s Pennines , and the weather station is sat at the very top, at an altitude of 847m.

Even then, mean wind speeds only reached 75 mph.

At nearby Warcop, just seven miles away and at an altitude of 224m, wind speed never got above 29 mph, a “strong breeze” on the Beaufort Scale.

This all comes from a Press Association report, which in turn appears to have been fed by the Met Office.

Why the Met Office should decide to deliberately mislead the public is anybody’s guess.

The Telegraph goes on to mention that 77mph gusts were recorded in High Bradfield, South Yorkshire.

I live 5 miles away from High Bradfield, and it was no more than a bit windy. So it won’t come as any surprise that High Bradfield is also a high altitude site, high up in the Peak District at 395m.

The nearest site with up to date data, according to the Met Office, is Watnall, 32 miles away in Nottinghamshire.

There wind speeds only reached 24 mph, a “Fresh Breeze” on the Beaufort Scale.

Even in Southern Scotland, the area worst affected in Britain, where the Met Office reported gusts of 72 mph high up on exposed cliffs above the Solway near Dundrennan, the mean wind speed peaked at 54 mph, still only a “Strong Gale”.

The headline claim that Storm Eleanor has lashed the UK with violent storm-force winds of up to 100mph is quite fraudulent.