Kicking up a storm: weather in Brighton

Talking about the weather is a cliché, but it is something we do a great deal of in the UK. When we aren’t lamenting the passing of yet another disappointing summer, we are discussing the impact – locally and globally – of climate change and the unpredictable weather patterns it seems to cause. Coastal towns and cities really feel the force of adverse conditions, and Brighton is no exception: storms, floods, tidal waves and avalanches all feature in its history. What’s more, the churning waves, salty winds and changing skies are a constant reminder of the power of the elements and the damage they can cause.

The ‘hurricane’ of October 1987 provides the most dramatic of recent memories. Unheralded by forecasters, the great storm swept across the Atlantic and hit the Sussex coast in the middle of the night. Gale force winds reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour, bringing down power lines, raising roofs, battering buildings and overturning cars. Across Brighton, mature trees were uprooted, including many of the majestic elms that had been saved from the ravages of Dutch elm disease. The Royal Pavilion, undergoing repairs at the time, was also seriously damaged. Its protective plastic sheeting was torn to shreds, scaffolding displaced and, worst of all, the tip of one of the building’s minarets, weighing two tonnes, crashed through the roof of the recently restored Music Room. Describing the impact of the storm on Brighton in his book Hurricane Force, writer George Hill noted that, ‘The whole town shook as if in the grip of an earthquake.’