The weather bomb predicted to hit northern Britain tonight could be a big one.
The shipping forecast is warning us to be prepared for phenomenal seas, with waves upwards of 46 feet (14 metres).
It could be as big as the December storm of 1894 perhaps bigger.
On the last day of 1894, this newspaper pieced together the story of a nation reeling from the effects of a devastating weather event and it was a sorry tale of destruction.
The storm hit the UK just before Christmas. It died down and then blasted back with fury a few days later.
Hurricanes ravaged the seas and blizzards battered the land.
Early on Sunday, December 30, 26 lives were lost when the Londonderry barque, Kirkmichael, went down off Holyhead.
The steamer, Oswald, Whitby, was lost off the Rhinds of Galloway, claiming 21 lives, among them Dundee engineer James Page.
Near Dublin, the brigantine Woodville and six lives on board were lost.
The Liverpool vessel, Loweswater, and its crew of 15 went missing.
Up and down the coast, boats were demasted or abandoned.
At Yarmouth, the Newhaven brigantine Emily Smeed, which had been drifting for a week, managed to drop anchor.
It snapped in the hurricane but the crew were rescued by lifeboat.
On land, the Inverness train line was blocked by snow, a Galloway church was destroyed by fire and lowland and highland Angus were crippled.
It remains to be seen how tonight’s storm unfolds but already, weather warnings are being upgraded.
Winds of around 80 miles per hour are expected across north Wales, Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland for about 48 hours.
The Met Office has just issued yellow “be aware” warnings for most of the country.
Both the Tay and Forth road bridges have been closed to high-sided vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians but remain open to cars.
Renowned Auchterarder weather forecaster Windy Wilson is predicting that winds will be picking up around now but tomorrow will be more severe.
Archive article courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive.