Cornish Storm Watcher

As Cornwall basks in some summery sunshine and clean lines of swell arrive over a brushed blue sea, the ravages of the recent storms and the wettest winter in recorded history start to fade into distant memory.  Hope is high that the winter has ended, and a constant stream of perfect swell over a warm hazy spring will precede a barbeque summer. Sunshine and Clean Swell Potentially then, this blog may have nothing more to report this winter, no more storms to watch, no more giant waves to record -perhaps the blog doors should be closed until next winter?  But first, I thought I'd do a recap from the stormiest season I can remember, one where 20 unique hurricane force wind storms hit the Atlantic during the months of January and February, 2014.   Hurricane force winds create large waves These are some of the pictures that hit the local and national papers over the winter Porthleven taking a hit from Hercules Fourteen of those 'bombed', low centers that ...

The south west has essentially been battered by several hurricanes over the past few weeks.  The most recent storm, hitting the coast on Friday afternoon and lasting until the small hours of Saturday morning, hit wind speeds above 80 mph and waves above thirty feet. The upper reaches of the widely used Beaufort scale are: Gale Force 8, Strong Gale Force 9, Storm Force 10 and  Violent Storm 11 for winds up to 73mph and waves over 37 feet.  Hurricane Force 12 is reserved for wind speeds above 74mph, and seas above 46 feet. Penzance Promenade  No wonder Penzance and Newlyn seafront were decimated, because that's what Hurricanes do. A whole layer of the promenade scattered  Although it might have been just a Violent Storm. This graph from the Penzance wave buoy would indicate otherwise, recording a wave over 90 feet.  . Large enough  Even if we assume this peak is an anomaly - the machinery that measures and records these waves has yet...

People who live in Cornwall are a resilient bunch, used to a bit of heavy weather and the odd gale. We will doubtless have to foot the repair bill, currently estimated at £21 million, via council tax rises, so it was encouraging to see an international windsurfing competition, the Red Bull Storm Chase decide to run their grand final of this year's event slap bang in the middle of the biggest storms for decades, Winter Storm Charlie. Bringing with them hundreds of spectators and tourists and TV crews during the off season, broadcasting the beauty of a Cornish Storm to the rest of the world.   Jumping for joy Checking the beach at Godrevy about 8am, there were some heavy head-plus size waves coming in. By nine am, the storm had fully arrived with waves hitting twenty to thirty feet. I saw the first two sailors to go out try and ride over the mountainous broken waves that were headed shoreward, but they were just crumpled under the weight of whitewater. Rumbling rivers of ...

Hot on the feet of winter storm Hercules came this colourful maid - winter storm Brigid. And with forecast numbers shooting ever upward, she promised even bigger waves. The red  track strands indicate hurricane force winds. Check out Brigid's colourful curves! As with the First Law of Surfing it follows that when this storm system hit shore, instead of hot footing it to the coast, I was busy shooting another job. Working quickly I saved some time and managed get a couple of shots during the last hour of the day. Sennen  You can see people at the old coastguard lookout at the top of the cliff, which is over 200feet above sea level. Longships Lighthouse Sennen at Sunset Don't worry if you missed this one, there'll be another one in a couple of days. When, naturally, I'll be working all day.  Have fun, stay safe! Here are some cracking pictures of Brigid in action, sent in by storm watcher Alan Burton: Huge waves crashing in to Porthcurno ...

As ever in winter, there are storms in Cornwall. Named, un-named, followed by the national media or passing virtually unnoticed, they are a fact of life at this time of year. Yesterday was quite spectacular on the coast, but lacking any notification by news media, social media or verbal media, there were only a few people out to see it. A lone sea bird defying the Rule of Thirds  Are these waves literally wasting their energy against granite and sand if no one is there to record it? The 'Monkey Hut' at the end of Portreath pier has gone, what will the sea take next? At Porthtowan, Christmas has come early - ex-Christmas trees have been planted to help slow down beach erosion.  The lorry is tipping sand which had blown across the road during the previous storm. Porthtowan  Godrevy Island - no stranger to waves during a Cornish storm Godrevy Lighthouse  There's another big blow coming in on Saturday - will you be there to record it?

What are the chances that as soon as you start a Storm Watching blog , within a couple of weeks the biggest storm in recent history will decide to hurl itself upon the Cornish coast?  Yes, Winter Storm 'Hercules' debuted not only as a massively media-covered weather event, but, like the hurricanes that continually bother the American coast, as one of the first storms to carry a personal name. Porthleven during the Hercules storm Having started at St Ives, which had zero wind and only a medium sized swell running, arriving at Porthleven was like entering the apocalypse. Horizontal rain with sea driven spray and foam filled the ai r, drenching the crowds of photographers lining the harbour, while massive foamy waves pounded the cliff and burst over the sea wall in front of the clock tower, flooding the road and forcing unwary watchers to beat a panicked retreat. Wet photographers This storm was made large by an exceptionally active jetstream (and by active I mean fa...

Hello, and welcome to the new Storm Watching blog which aims to showcase some of the brilliant storms we get down here in the far south west of Cornwall, in the UK.  To get the blog started I've put up a few pics and video from previous storms, and will post more content as more storms hit the coast throughout the winter.  Feel free to email me your storm pics from wherever you are too.   Porthleven Penzance promenade wave dodgers Wave dodgers getting the shot Storm watchers at Portreath Sennen breakwater Storm aftermath at Hayle Portreath Longships Lighthouse, off Land's End Sennen takes a battering There's a storm raging outside as I write this, so I'd better get out and get some shots!