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The end of September 2007 saw the centre of the UK hit by a number of tornadoes; a weather condition which seemingly took everyone by surprise, despite the fact that, according to statisticians, the UK has more tornadoes per square mile of landmass than anywhere else in the world.
Fortunately, there are no reports of the tornadoes causing any personal injuries, which is somewhat surprising considering the substantial damage that was done to property in Farnborough, Luton and Northampton by both 60mph winds and falling trees. There was even a road accident in Cambridgeshire which saw a car lifted from the tarmac and propelled into a nearby van, but amazingly both drivers walked away without a scratch.
Considering these events, it seems that we got off relatively lightly from what has been described as a "freak" weather occurrence.
Meteorologists have fought to calm the media speculation that these tornadoes were caused by climate change, issuing reassuring messages that these are a perfectly normal autumn weather feature and that, in fact, the UK has been struck by fewer tornadoes than expected in the past century.
This latest so-called "freak" weather has followed the wettest summer since records began, with central England and much of Wales in particular being severely affected by day after day of steady rain through June and July. In addition, conditions were made even worse by the odd downpour. Unfortunately, as well as devastating property, the resulting floods also caused fatal accidents.
Two people were overcome by fumes as they tried to pump out a flooded basement, one man suffered serious head injuries and died whilst bailing out water from his house, and a number of others died after being swept away by swollen rivers and streams. Furthermore, people were involved in road accidents linked to the rain, with many suffering personal injuries as a result.
Again, many scientists fought suggestions that this heavy and unseasonal rainfall was caused by climate change. Previous years in which high levels of rain fell were referenced, such as 1956, 1985 and 1927, in an effort to give support to the idea that, while not typical of our usual summers, these floods have been part of the UK's weather for some years.
However, even though these events may not necessarily be caused by climate change, it seems that severe weather warnings for heavy rain, high winds and very hot days are being issued more and more frequently. So what does this mean for people living in the UK, apart from ensuring that our home insurance policies are up to date and that we have plenty of sandbags to hand?
With these so-called "freak" weather conditions comes a greater risk of accidents and personal injury. With something like a hurricane or a tornado, the kind of accidents that are likely to occur are those involving fallen trees and objects being flung around by the wind, all of which could result in crush injuries. With floods, on the other hand, the most obvious risk is drowning, but as we saw in the summer of 2007, people also risk personal injuries in the clear up operation.
Very hot conditions are another form of extreme weather but these pose a very different risk to people's health. The elderly and the very young are particularly affected by the high temperatures and many can die, as was seen in the 2003 heatwave in France where 3,000 fatalities were recorded.
With these natural threats seeming an evermore common part of the UK's future, especially if the climate changes in the way that some predict, there needs to be an effective strategy for ensuring the safety of people and saving their homes from devastation. Whether this takes the form of improving flood defences or removing trees that are judged to be rotten or in danger of becoming uprooted, it is clear that action is needed sooner rather than later.
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