Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.
I assume this came from 'Hurricane force 12' winds which was correct
and they had managed to use for a day or two but of course they get
slack and it becomes a 'hurricane'.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing it seems, the media certainly
can't be trusted to know the difference between the two.

Unfortunately in future it might be a good idea not to feed the media
with difficult concepts to grasp like 'Hurricane force 12' and just say
it was 'a big scary windstorm with lots of waves and stuff'.

You can't go wrong with that

Col
--
Bolton, Lancashire.
160m asl.
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co.uk
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co....rPictures.html

"Col" wrote in message
...
Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.

The forecasts were excellent.

If a family of five chose to ignore the ample warnings, then there is little
the rest of us can do or say about it.

There is no way that I would have attempted to cross that causeway in those
conditions.
But it's a free world. That family made a decision and that has to be
respected.

Jack.

"Jack Harrison" wrote in message
.. .

"Col" wrote in message
...
Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.

The forecasts were excellent.

True.

If a family of five chose to ignore the ample warnings, then there is little
the rest of us can do or say about it.

Well yes but that wasn't actually the point I was making

Col
--
Bolton, Lancashire.
160m asl.
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co.uk
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co....rPictures.html

Col wrote:

Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.
I assume this came from 'Hurricane force 12' winds which was correct
and they had managed to use for a day or two but of course they get
slack and it becomes a 'hurricane'.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing it seems, the media certainly
can't be trusted to know the difference between the two.

Unfortunately in future it might be a good idea not to feed the media
with difficult concepts to grasp like 'Hurricane force 12' and just say
it was 'a big scary windstorm with lots of waves and stuff'.

I really don't think in this case that it was a problem. I mean,
semantically, it wasn't a hurricane, but to all intents and purposes,
does the average person on the street know *exactly* what constitutes a
hurricane?

Perhaps we should have our own scale for Atlantic storms similar to the
Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes...

--
Jonathan Stott
Canterbury Weather: http://www.canterburyweather.co.uk/

"Col" wrote in message
...
Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.
I assume this came from 'Hurricane force 12' winds which was correct
and they had managed to use for a day or two but of course they get
slack and it becomes a 'hurricane'.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing it seems, the media certainly
can't be trusted to know the difference between the two.

Unfortunately in future it might be a good idea not to feed the media
with difficult concepts to grasp like 'Hurricane force 12' and just say
it was 'a big scary windstorm with lots of waves and stuff'.




Hi Col

I normally keep my head firmly below the parapet, but please - why be so
petty with semantics. Surely the emphasis here is the "5 killed". I really
hope that none of their surviving family have an interest in the weather and
are not reading this newsgroup.

Paul

Jonathan Stott wrote in
:

I really don't think in this case that it was a problem. I mean,
semantically, it wasn't a hurricane, but to all intents and purposes,
does the average person on the street know *exactly* what constitutes a
hurricane?

Perhaps we should have our own scale for Atlantic storms similar to the
Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes...

For me, the comparison with a hurricane in terms of the sustained winds on
the Saffir-Simpson scale actually brought it home to me how strong the
winds were! I realise we're not dealing with a hurricane but it was a
useful comparison. For interest - the system was about 1-2 knots short of a
Category 3 Hurricane in terms of classification by sustained winds.

Richard

"Richard Dixon" wrote in
message
Jonathan Stott wrote in
:
I mean, semantically, it wasn't a hurricane,
Perhaps we should have our own scale for Atlantic storms similar to the
Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes...

We do and not only do we but it has priority over all other wind scales.

For me, the comparison with a hurricane in terms of the sustained winds on
the Saffir-Simpson scale actually brought it home to me how strong the
winds were! I realise we're not dealing with a hurricane but it was a
useful comparison. For interest - the system was about 1-2 knots short of a
Category 3 Hurricane in terms of classification by sustained winds.

And on the Beaufort Scale it was an hurricane too.

Bunch of pink cardiganed pedants!


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

Jack Harrison wrote:

There is no way that I would have attempted to cross that causeway in
those conditions.

Having seen what the tide did here in our relatively benign part of Argyll I
can imagine the fear that drove them to do it.
The sea broke a lot of rules that night - it would be difficult to know
where it was going to stop

But it's a free world. That family made a decision and that has to be
respected.

And a community supported


--

regards
Jill Bowis

Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine nursery
Holidays in Scotland and Wales
http://www.kintaline.co.uk

In article ,
says...
Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.
I assume this came from 'Hurricane force 12' winds which was correct
and they had managed to use for a day or two but of course they get
slack and it becomes a 'hurricane'.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing it seems, the media certainly
can't be trusted to know the difference between the two.


You may have a point, if you consider weather forecasts to be for the
sole digestion of other meteorologists, however, I think they are more
directed to the general populace who don't speak in scientific
terminologies but in English.

According to my Oxford, a hurricane is "a storm with a violent wind" or
"a wind of 75mph or more"[1]. I think both definitions clearly cover the
storm in question. The word itself has been in use for at least 400
years whereas the modern scientific definition was finally set in stone
less than 40 years ago.

[]


You can't go wrong with that

Smiley noted.


[1] I must admit to some surprise that that is as close as my paperback
edition comes to the actual scientific definition.
--
Alan LeHun

"Paul Appleby" paulattoonhyphenarmydotcom wrote in message
.. .

"Col" wrote in message
...
Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.
I assume this came from 'Hurricane force 12' winds which was correct
and they had managed to use for a day or two but of course they get
slack and it becomes a 'hurricane'.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing it seems, the media certainly
can't be trusted to know the difference between the two.

Unfortunately in future it might be a good idea not to feed the media
with difficult concepts to grasp like 'Hurricane force 12' and just say
it was 'a big scary windstorm with lots of waves and stuff'.




Hi Col

I normally keep my head firmly below the parapet, but please - why be so
petty with semantics. Surely the emphasis here is the "5 killed". I really
hope that none of their surviving family have an interest in the weather and
are not reading this newsgroup.

So if people die then we can't talk about poorly worded news reports?

I only ever mentioned it because that happened to be the context in
which the report was made.

Col
--
Bolton, Lancashire.
160m asl.
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co.uk
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co....rPictures.html