Definition
Extreme or severe weather is simply really bad weather or
weather on a larger, more serious and devastating scale.

For example:
Instead of a few snowflakes falling, there is a snowstorm and snowdrifts can be many meters deep.
Extreme forms of a windy day include gales, hurricanes and tornadoes.
Heavy rain may last much longer than a few hours or even days and result in flooding of rivers, roads and homes.

Extreme weather events may not happen very often. When they do they can cause destruction of buildings, vehicles, roads and homes, costing many billions of pounds. People’s lives are also at risk from some unexpected weather events. Modern technology allows predictions to be made so people know when and where a hurricane is going to hit land. However, some storms, including tornadoes, still cannot be forecast accurately.

Click on any of the severe weather events below to find out more information about them, see pictures and read about examples.