Originally Posted by
EGAC
I heard the the Met Office shipping forecast at 12-45 am before turning in and it said "severe gale - force 9, rising to violent storm - force 11, possibly hurricane - force 12".
I don't what actually materialised but that's the first time I've heard such a forecast for these waters.
Through the winter there will be on average 2-3 occassions when the storms over Shetland are force 12 - you just batten down the hatches. Most things are built with these conditions in mind. Twice in the last 15 years I experienced winds just over 100 mph, first time was early 90's where the gusts in the far north of the isles were measured at 168 mph. Two birdwatchers were killed when their chalet was blown clean over a cliff.
Back on aircraft stuff - I do remember BA landing an ATP at Sumburgh on a day when they were experiencing hurricane force winds, don't know what the conditions were like when they landed but they did measure 105 mph at the airfield on the day. The wind was straight up and down the runway and I was amazed that they were even trying to land on the day.