Well contrary to popular belief, colder climate regimes are stormier and
have wilder temperature swings, "Little Ice Age" of which 1779 was a
part of. Warmer climates regimes are generally less stormy, mainly because
the temperature differential between the poles and the equator is somewhat
less.
.........About time this point was made because it has relevance to global warming.
No doubt about the world being a considerably warmer place than it was
(whatever the cause) but why it should lead to greater storminess is not
obvious.
Dunno about the CET but a recent paper on SH trends -
Fyfe, John C., 2003: Extratropical Southern Hemisphere Cyclones: Harbingers of Climate Change?. J.
Climate, 16 (17), 2802-2805.
In concert with a poleward shift in baroclinicity, the synoptic environment south of 40°S appears to
have changed significantly over recent decades. South of 40°S and north of the Antarctic Ocean the
number of cyclones has dramatically decreased, while over the Antarctic Ocean a modest increase has
occurred. A global climate model with anthropogenic forcing produces similar historical changes, and
under a "business-as-usual" emissions scenario predicts that the number of sub-Antarctic Ocean
cyclones will drop by over 30% between now and century's end.

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regards,
david
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