Bedfordshire
High Winds and Storms
The Gales of 1987
Places > Bedfordshire > Weather
On the 15th and 16th October 1987 winds in London and the South East reached record breaking speeds of up to 94 mph bringing cables and trees down. Nationally the damage was estimated at 1. 9 billion and 15 million trees were lost.
Bedford escaped the brunt of the winds but still suffered with gusts of up to 60 mph.
The worst of the storm hit East Bedfordshire where high winds brought down electric power lines in and around the Biggleswade area. Biggleswade Police reported more than ten separate incidents of trees blocking routes into the area.
Many people in the Leighton Buzzard area were left without heat or light as a result of the storm.
Whipsnade Zoo closed for the day because of the state of some of the trees, over 100 were damaged.
Sources:
- Newspaper cuttings from the Local Studies Collection in Bedford Central Library
The Gales of 1987 by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2005
Page last updated: 4th February 2014