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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Ian Jones & Steven Smith & Alexander Smail

The strongest UK winds ever recorded revealed by experts and number one is in Scotland

Storm Eunice has officially arrived in the UK, and is causing disruption across Scotland.

Schools in some areas of the country have been closed due to snow, and a British Airways flight from Edinburgh to London was forced to pull a mid-air U-turn as a result of strong winds.

Gusts of wind exceeding 100 miles per hour have been recorded in some parts of the UK, but this doesn't even come close to the record for the highest wind speed.

READ MORE — Storm Eunice: Experts reveal where storm got its name and what next one will be called

With speeds of almost 200mph having been recorded in Scotland in the past, it is safe to say Eunice will not be setting a new record.

As revealed by Met Office data, here is a list of the highest wind speeds that have ever been recorded in the UK, and where about they occurred.

6. 98mph, Northumberland

The strongest gust recorded during Storm Arwen on the night of November 26-27, 2021, at Brizlee Wood, Northumberland. Before Storm Eunice, Arwen was the most recent example of a red weather warning being issued in the UK.

5. 105mph, Shetland Islands

The strongest gust during Storm Gertrude on January 29, 2016, at Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. This storm saw a red weather warning issued for the whole of the Shetlands.

4. 115mph, West Sussex

The peak wind speed reached during the “Great Storm” of the night of October 15-16, 1987, at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. Gusts also reached 99mph at Gatwick Airport and 94mph in central London.

3. 118mph, Cornwall

The strongest gust recorded at a low-level location in England, at Gwennap Head in Cornwall on December 15, 1979.

2. 142mph, Aberdeenshire

The strongest gust recorded at any low-level location in the UK, at Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, on February 13, 1989.

1. 173mph, Cairngorms

This was the strongest gust ever recorded in the UK, at Cairngorm summit in the Highlands of Scotland on March 20, 1986.

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