Well it remains to be seen whether this storm had a sting jet. They're not that common and one mustn't believe the Daily Mail...

The worst of it in Bude was from around 9 to 11.30 this morning: we sat in the house shivering in our boots, listening to the roar of the wind outside. It wasn't safe to go outside. By about 12 the storm had abated to a regular Cornish winter gale so I ventured outside to see what had happened. We had survived very well! Plant pots, even big clay ones, were scattered all around. We lost one big slate from an outbuilding and there were twigs and small branches everywhere. One of my tarpaulins is stuck 30 feet up a tree. :-) the greenhouse and our sheds all made it through. We have friends and neighbours a-plenty who have suffered, conservatory windows wrecked, greenhouses and sheds demolished, roof damage...

Brits may note that Bude, for the first time ever, made the lead story on the BBC news, all because of a young fellow who managed to video our iconic town centre tree being blown over. That tree was at least 100 years old and was decorated every Christmas with the world's biggest baubles. It had been deemed unsafe anyway and was due to be removed, but it's nice that Mother Nature did the job for us instead. It damaged the adjacent low wall and the rather nondescript fountain, but that was all. I never liked that tree much, and the ground beneath was always smothered in birdshit. Hopefully, the council will think about landscaping the little green area to make it a lovely place to sit in. That tree was a bit overwhelming..