1992 New Year's Day Storm

By 1200 UTC on 31 December 1991 an Atlantic low pressure centre of 985 mb had developed at the left exit of a strong WSW jet stream and was at 57°N 27°W.

[3] A satellite image at 1600 UTC on 31 December showed a ‘clear eye’ in the cloud comma which indicates the dry air from the stratosphere descending into the developing low pressure as is a signature of explosive cyclogenesis.

[3] At midnight (0000 UTC 1 January) the left exit of the jet stream was just behind the top of a sharp thermal ridge just west of Faroe, rapidly deepening the low centre to 957mb.

After the storm, a relief action called Aksjon Orkan was set up, based in Oslo, a city which was not affected by the windstorm.

The action was supported by the County Governor of Møre og Romsdal, but the mayor of Vanylven Municipality scorned the perceived intent to collect "food and clothes for the windstorm victims", stating the lack of need for such aid.

In Shetland, widespread structural damage was reported, and 2 people were killed - after their bird watching hut on Hermaness was destroyed during the violent gales.

[3][4] The Met Office recognised the systems progression and subsequently issued warnings for parts of Scotland on the evening of the 31st December.

[4] *It is important to recognise that due to the strength of winds, many stations failed at reporting values higher than they were programmed to, such as Muckle Flugga.

Severe structural damage was reported across the Shetland Isles, with 2 tourists (aged 26 and 22) having been killed after their birdwatching hut was destroyed by gales of over 200 mph.

[16] The remains of the tourists were found shoeless, one of them a short distance south along the path to the hut and the other more than half-a-mile to the east at the foot of an 18-metre cliff.

[4] When questioned, Squadron leader Nicholas Gordon assured that national security had not suffered, but did not say if the surviving radars, designed to detect Soviet bombers and missiles, were still functional.

[4] The Saxa Vord station suffered some of the most dramatic damage, with sections of the building seen with foundations swept clean of any construction.

[4][38] Severe damage was reported to the 19th Century St. Magnus Bay Hotel in Hillswick, which was shifted on its foundations, and the next-door 'The Booth', Shetland's oldest pub,[4] took a battering, with the carpark being washed away - the combined repairs for these two buildings was expected to cost £1.3 million (adjusted for inflation).

[39] Two wings of the hotel had been 'disintegrated' and blew into the sea 0.5 miles (0.80 km) away, and the remaining had been punctured by flying wood and glass which embedded the standing walls.