The morning after the night before, and St Jude the storm seems to have left behind a lot of scattered leaves, some fallen trees, and a vague sense of anti-climax.

Wry comments abound, as some Brits took to social media to bemoan this country’s reaction to a bout of extreme weather. “Empty pizza box blowing almost all the way across the street outside. Further updates as they come to hand. #prayforwestlondon,” Tweeted one wag.

A Photoshopped picture of a cow flying past some houses claimed to depict the scene in Tunbridge Wells this morning, while pictures of upturned garden chairs offered commentaries on the extent of the UK’s “storm damage”.

Others – and here I have some sympathy – complained bitterly of the rail companies’ readiness to fly the white flag before a single gust has dislodged one solitary yellow leaf. “Cancelling trains BEFORE a storm is hardly the spirit of the home of the industrial revolution and a nation which saw off Hitler,” ran one tweet.

The view from beyond the commuter belt suggests a little bit of preparation and a dose of good luck ensured things were not, indeed, as bad as they could have been. Reports trickled in from suppliers of torn polytunnels and smashed greenhouses. A bus overturned on a farm in Suffolk. But Scotland and the north escaped largely unscathed.

Dairy Crest reported no known problems with its milk deliveries and, on the retail side, Sainsbury’s said: “The weather hasn’t caused any significant disruption to our stores.”

So was St Jude another bit of overhyped weather, stoked by long-range forecasts, rolling news programmes and lingering Met Office guilt that the Great Storm of 87 wasn’t better predicted?

Personally, having sat through Hurricane Sandy in New York, almost a year ago to the day, I’m all in favour of a bit of over-caution. Better to rush to your local convenience store and stock up on possibly unnecessary torches, candles, bottles of water and chocolate biscuits than to be sorry later.

And pictures of the RNLI boats out on the choppy sea last night served as a reminder that lots of people are called upon to do very dangerous jobs indeed when the weather turns bad.

So while St Jude has given us an opportunity to swap jokes about the British climate and complain about the train operators, I for one am hoping the rest of autumn/winter 2013 is a little more benign. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Topics