The weather is notoriously unpredictable. A well-dressed weatherman smiles brightly through your television on Monday morning, promising you a sunny day, only to be caught in a hailstorm and late for work in a dented car.
The weather can also be extremely dangerous. Tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards, to name just a few, wreak havoc around the world every year, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
Below is a list of some of the most terrifying weather events on Earth that have been captured on camera or painted for posterity and served as a constant warning to seek shelter early.
The above image depicts the worst recorded storm in Irish history. It is believed that a Category 4 (Category 5 in some descriptions) hurricane slammed into Ireland on 6 January 1839, killing around 500 in Ireland, a further 300 in the UK, and causing massive destruction.
The day before, a huge snowstorm blanketed the country leading people to believe that the drifts would take days to melt. However, 6 January broke sunny and bright and soon there was no snow to be seen. In the west of Ireland, people soon started noticing an eerie silence and when broke it by speaking to one another their voices travelled at unusually great distances.
The bright sunny day didn’t last as storm clouds started rolling in. Even as towns were plunged into near total darkness one after another, no one expected the horror that was to come. The wind picked up steadily until it reached hurricane force. Animals were lifted from the ground like ragdolls and terrified residents sought shelter in the old Parliament House.
A storm of this magnitude hasn’t repeated itself on Irish shores to date.
