The New Year's Day Storm (Norwegian: Nyttårsorkanen) was a powerful European windstorm that affected much of northern Scotland and western Norway on January 1, 1992. DNMI estimated the strongest sustained winds (10 min. average) to have reached 90 knots (45 m/s). Unofficial records of gusts in excess of 130 knots (67 m/s) were recorded in Shetland, while Statfjord-B in the North Sea recorded wind gusts in excess of 145 knots (75 m/s). There were very few fatalities, mainly due to the rather low population of the islands, and the fact that the islanders are used to powerful wind. In Norway there were one fatality, in Frei, Møre og Romsdal county. There were also two fatalities on Unst in the Shetland Isles. The low figure was probably because it struck in the morning on a public holiday.
Famous quotes containing the words year, day and/or storm:
“The New Year is the season in which custom seems more particularly to authorize civil and harmless lies, under the name of compliments. People reciprocally profess wishes which they seldom form and concern which they seldom feel.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“Muriel Bedford: It isn’t every day that your only son gets married.
Judge Bedford: He’s your son, too, Muriel. I mean it’s about time you started taking half the blame.”
—Dale Launer (b. 1953)
“I am less affected by their heroism who stood up for half an hour in the front line at Buena Vista, than by the steady and cheerful valor of the men who inhabit the snow-plow for their winter quarters; who have not merely the three-o’-clock-in-the-morning courage, which Bonaparte thought was the rarest, but whose courage does not go to rest so early, who go to sleep only when the storm sleeps or the sinews of their iron steed are frozen.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)