With rumours of an imminent hurricane famously dismissed by BBC weatherman Michael Fish, the devastating Great Storm of 1987 struck in the early hours of 16 October, wreaking havoc across the UK. During his forecast on 15 October, Fish reassured viewers, "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well, if you’re watching, don’t worry – there isn’t!"

Technically, he was correct that it wasn’t an official hurricane, but the storm’s 100 miles per hour+ (161km/h) winds proved catastrophic, leading to 18 deaths, a capsized ship and the loss of around 15 million trees. The Met Office did issue severe weather warnings to various agencies and emergency services. However, by the time most people went to bed, the exceptionally strong winds had not been mentioned in radio or TV weather broadcasts, leaving the public largely unprepared.

When the weatherman got it wrong: history’s biggest forecasting fails