The heavy rains and gusty winds that pounded large swaths of Britain is part of a historic storm that could be one of the top five strongest storms on record in this part of the North Atlantic.
The high winds and torrential rains -- this is almost certainly UK's wettest December on record -- are part of Storm Frank, which slammed into Iceland and the northern UK. Officials say 5,500 homes in Scotland lost power Wednesday as gale-force winds hit, and flights were diverted in Ireland and Scotland.
Monstrous waves, some 50 feet tall or even higher, stretched across the North Atlantic between Iceland and the UK, with some of those swells striking the coast.
A meteorological marvel, the storm intensified so rapidly that the term "bombogenesis" is perhaps an understatement to describe it. Aiding its explosive development was a jet stream on steroids, with winds of 230 miles per hour roaring across the North Atlantic at aircraft cruising altitudes.