freakish? nah ...

(1987 'hurricane', Littlehampton, West Sussex)

The most annoying thing about the London tornado is the way that many newsreaders etc refer to it as a 'freak'. It's anything but. Britain has the highest number of tornadoes (by area) of any country in the world. They're part and parcel of living somewhere where the climate is unstable. True, they're not as vicious as ones in some other parts of the world, but they can still pack quite a punch.

The important thing to remember is that we are still living in relatively quiet times climate-wise. Things are going to get much, much wilder. In the broad historical sweep stable and benign climates are 'freaks'. For much of the time the earth's climate is wild and inhospitable. We need to plan for wilder weather and prepare for it. We can't stop it happening now, we all need to adapt. Tornadoes, heatwaves, floods, blizzards, wildfires and superstorms are going to become part and parcel of everyday life for all of us.

I was in the front line of the 1987 hurricane. It convinced me (a decade before most!) that something odd was going on with the climate. It got me involved in green/Green politics. No doubt the 2006 tornado will do the same for others.