0:00:03 > 0:00:06Weather is the last truly wild thing on Earth.
0:00:06 > 0:00:11We can't predict it and we can't control it.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16I'm Donal MacIntyre and I'm about to journey around the world
0:00:16 > 0:00:19to seek out the wildest weather there is.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24'In this series, I'll experience the fastest winds on Earth...'
0:00:24 > 0:00:28136 miles an hour!
0:00:28 > 0:00:33'..the awesome cycle of water around the planet...'
0:00:33 > 0:00:35I've been... I can't talk!
0:00:37 > 0:00:41'..I'll take a ride into the cold heart of winter...'
0:00:41 > 0:00:48It might be unconventional, but it gives you a once-in-a-lifetime view on the top of the w-o-r-l-d! Woo!
0:00:48 > 0:00:52'..and experience the dark side of summer...'
0:00:52 > 0:00:57- CRACKING - 1.5 million volts through my finger.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01I'm going to get blasted, roasted,
0:01:01 > 0:01:07soaked and frozen, because I want to understand how the weather works,
0:01:07 > 0:01:12the awesome forces that drive it and how it affects us all.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17I'll meet those that have survived the worst it gets,
0:01:17 > 0:01:23and try to understand why the weather is changing and what that means for the future.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28It's going to be the ride of a lifetime!
0:01:28 > 0:01:30This is Wild Weather.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58Our Earth is vast - 24,500 miles around,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02but all our weather takes place within this thin blue streak.
0:02:07 > 0:02:14It's through that thin blue streak that I'm now about to go - to the very top of the weather.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Bill, hi.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Are you ready for this?
0:02:23 > 0:02:25JET SCREAMS
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Even in a jet it takes a day to circle the Earth,
0:02:29 > 0:02:34but I can fly through the weather in minutes if I go...straight up!
0:02:38 > 0:02:44'316 Bravo. Flight 2. Clear for takeoff.'
0:03:02 > 0:03:08Right around here, about a mile or so up, is where the rain clouds start.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This is where it all comes from.
0:03:11 > 0:03:19For the next few miles, billions of gallons float around in the clouds, just waiting to turn into rain.
0:03:23 > 0:03:30But they don't go on forever. So, if you want a bit of sunshine, all you have to do is this...
0:03:30 > 0:03:34JETS SCREECH
0:03:41 > 0:03:46For every mile we climb, the air cools by 17 degrees Celsius.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03From here, about five miles, you can look DOWN on a thunderstorm,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06look into the eye of a hurricane
0:04:06 > 0:04:12or even hitch a ride on the back of the jet stream - the fastest wind on Earth.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And this is it! Six-and-a-half miles up.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26The weather stops here.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30At this height, the air stops cooling
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and remains a constant minus 50 degrees Celsius.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38All the moisture in the air has dried out.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44This freezing layer of dry air is called the tropopause.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48It acts as a lid, trapping all our weather below.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Way above, you enter the stratosphere -
0:05:01 > 0:05:04an almost completely weather-free zone -
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and beyond it...space.
0:05:07 > 0:05:13It's amazing to think that below me now is every kind of weather imaginable.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19We're going to start the series by taking a journey with the winds.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25In the next hour, I'll experience everything from a breeze to the fury of a tornado.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31In a few heart-stopping moments, I'll be back down there
0:05:31 > 0:05:35to see how it all begins. ..Take it away, Barry!
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Woo!
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Having shot to the top of the weather, I took the easy way down.
0:05:57 > 0:06:03Below me is the equator and the start of my journey with wind.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33And this...
0:06:33 > 0:06:36is where it all begins.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39This is where the wind...
0:06:39 > 0:06:42is actually born.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46It's hot. Damned hot.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52What's really strange is, there's no wind.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54And that's because...
0:06:54 > 0:06:57this is the doldrums!
0:06:59 > 0:07:04So how is it that there are no winds where the winds are born?
0:07:04 > 0:07:12The doldrums are a strip of complete calm, five to ten degrees either side of the equator.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17The intense energy of the sun heats the air,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19which rises in huge columns,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24sucking in powerful surface winds from north and south.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26The only movement of air is up,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30so the areas underneath remain calm and windless.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36This rising air is the first part of a massive global wind cycle
0:07:36 > 0:07:40which will take it right across the world.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47To follow the start of the wind's journey, follow this.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Down here, at sea level, my leaf drifts lazily
0:07:56 > 0:08:00until it is lifted up by the rising warm air.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Way above, a huge pattern emerges.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07The world's winds are locked into an endless cycle.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11If you could see it, it'd look like this.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Warm air rises from the equator and hits the tropopause.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20It slides north and south before sinking back to Earth,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24back to the equator as the winds we feel on land or sea.
0:08:24 > 0:08:31This process repeats itself in a further two wind cycles, both north and south.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36These cells balance the temperature between the freezing poles
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and the sweltering equator.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42The Earth's air-conditioning system.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47If it didn't exist, the poles would be 25 degrees colder
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and the equator would be 14 degrees hotter.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56And all this from a place of dead calm...
0:08:58 > 0:09:03In the days of sail, finding yourselves adrift in the doldrums
0:09:03 > 0:09:06was every sailor's nightmare.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Water was limited. When it was gone, so were your chances of survival.
0:09:14 > 0:09:20Stuck here with just my book is how countless sailors must have found themselves.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23'We came across a calm so endless
0:09:23 > 0:09:28'that we saw no end in it, except death.'
0:09:28 > 0:09:31That's how one sailor remembered it.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Nowadays, it's hard to imagine the torture of waiting for the wind
0:09:37 > 0:09:40that many sailors had to endure.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42But, if you survived long enough,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45the winds would come again.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52That's because the doldrums follow the seasons.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56As summertime moves from the northern to the southern hemisphere,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00the areas of intense heating that create the doldrums
0:10:00 > 0:10:03move south, dragging them with it.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08Then the winds created by that huge global system eventually return.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11I can feel that breeze. Let's go.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Every wind on Earth begins its cycle here.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32To see what they can do, I'm off to experience all I can
0:10:32 > 0:10:34of this invisible force.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39From a tornado's fury to the gales of the Pacific ocean.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42From an icy blast from the Arctic
0:10:42 > 0:10:45and the cooling breeze of a summer day.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55To get an idea of what to expect, I have to go underground.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02Wind is measured by the force it exerts on an object.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Today that object is going to be me.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10This place can produce wind speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15It's like a funnel. The wind speed increases as the air gets squeezed.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Up there, where I'll stand, wind is seven times faster than here.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25So it's a great place to feel the full force of it!
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Wind speed is measured using the Beaufort scale.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35This is Force 2 -
0:11:35 > 0:11:37about 6 to 10mph.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42It feels like a gentle breeze of a summer's day.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58But at 25-30mph, things are picking up.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03This is Force 6 - a strong breeze, where big trees sway
0:12:03 > 0:12:05and you've to fight your umbrellas.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12At 40mph - Force 8 - it's getting tough to stand up.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18A little more and there'll be damage to your house. Tree branches are breaking.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24But once you hit Force 9, things are getting really stormy!
0:12:26 > 0:12:3050mph - a good gale.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Trees and power lines down.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Houses damaged.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37I'm still standing
0:12:37 > 0:12:42but, as you can see, it's taking my full weight. Woo!
0:12:42 > 0:12:46WIND TUNNEL ROARS
0:13:25 > 0:13:32In a wind tunnel it may look like fun, but, in nature, winds of this speed are deadly.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35And we call them hurricanes.
0:13:38 > 0:13:44The people of Dade County, Florida, know what it's like to live through a hurricane.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49In 1992, Hurricane Andrew changed their lives forever.
0:13:49 > 0:13:57A devastation, a tragedy like this, coming into an area, just shakes up people's lives for years to come.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02The nightmare began on Friday August 14.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07Like all hurricanes, Andrew began life off the coast of Africa
0:14:07 > 0:14:10in the warm waters of the Atlantic.
0:14:10 > 0:14:17Hot, humid air rose up to create several thunderstorms around an area of low pressure.
0:14:17 > 0:14:24The Earth's rotation made the storm rush into the low pressure area in an anti-clockwise direction,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26like water down a plughole.
0:14:26 > 0:14:33This spun them into one huge system, driven across the ocean by powerful winds.
0:14:37 > 0:14:404,000 miles away in the United States,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44the swirling thunderstorms had been spotted.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47They'd not yet formed a hurricane,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51but were seen as a potential killer and monitored by experts.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56One of them, Stanley Goldenberg, had flown through many hurricanes,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00but this time it was going to be very different.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04I was asked to fly Hurricane Andrew and love to fly.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09I said, "No! My wife's expecting..." We didn't dream what would happen.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Andrew continued to build.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Like all tropical storms, it was fuelled by heat.
0:15:18 > 0:15:26Warm water vapour within the cloud is attracted to surfaces of minute particles, like salt crystals,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30causing the water vapour to condense.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34This process - changing from gas to liquid - releases heat.
0:15:34 > 0:15:40A storm of Andrew's size results in vast billowing updraughts
0:15:40 > 0:15:45which suck in moisture from the sea, creating more rain and heat,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48driving the wind speed higher and higher.
0:15:49 > 0:15:57By Thursday morning, as the energy within the storm grew, the wind speeds accelerated to over 75mph.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Andrew was now officially a hurricane.
0:16:02 > 0:16:09On Friday, the hurricane watchers saw Andrew weaken and turn away from Florida.
0:16:09 > 0:16:17We thought it was falling apart. The Miami Herald said, "Andrew weakens and moves out to sea."
0:16:18 > 0:16:24By Saturday morning, Andrew was gaining strength as the eye of the hurricane hit the Bahamas
0:16:24 > 0:16:28with wind speeds of up to 122mph.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Florida lay just ten hours ahead.
0:16:32 > 0:16:40Andrew was now 100 miles across and the outer edges were already lashing the Florida coast.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Having spent years studying hurricanes from his desk,
0:16:44 > 0:16:49a bizarre twist of fate meant Stanley, his family and new baby,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52were to become victims of Andrew.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57'This is our house, calmly waiting for Hurricane Andrew.'
0:16:57 > 0:17:04That night, trapped at home, he hoped the hurricane would pass away to the north.
0:17:04 > 0:17:11I went through denial. In the midst of it AND dealing with a new baby, I had to deal with a hurricane!
0:17:12 > 0:17:16'If you can see it, the beginnings of Andrew...
0:17:16 > 0:17:19'This is just one little squall.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21'We have much more to go.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32'Sunday 23rd of August and we're going to weather it out...
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- 'Hi, Daniel. Say hi!- Hi!'
0:17:38 > 0:17:42- ROARING - Oh, boy! Can you hear that?
0:17:42 > 0:17:46I don't know if the video will pick it up. It's coming!
0:17:48 > 0:17:53People say a tornado sounds like a freight train or plane going by.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59This was that kind of sound, but it just seemed to always get louder.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04'It IS blowing! I certainly have never seen anything like it before.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07'I can feel our ears constantly pop.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12'The winds outside, I think, are at least 110mph. Aaron, are you OK?'
0:18:15 > 0:18:20A hurricane's highest winds are around the wall of the eye -
0:18:20 > 0:18:22the outer edge of the black ring.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27At 4.35am on Sunday morning, the deadly eye wall of Andrew
0:18:27 > 0:18:30hit Dade County at 175mph,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35destroying the radar that produced these images.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40People ask me, "Did you hear the roof rip off?"
0:18:40 > 0:18:45Something hit the kitchen-living room wall and it fell on us.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50Things were pressing down on us. We were in this tiny little space.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53The water level was rising.
0:18:53 > 0:18:59Things got louder and noisier. We thought we were going to die.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18When the roof gave, and we were in the most terrifying situation we could imagine
0:19:18 > 0:19:20during the worst part of the storm.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We were pinned under the wall there.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28Fell on top of us and pinned us there.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Kids crying. Us crying.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Thanking God that we were all safe.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Hallelujah!
0:19:38 > 0:19:40(Hallelujah...)
0:19:40 > 0:19:48It shakes me when I see the film. At the start, I think, "These guys don't know what's going to happen."
0:19:48 > 0:19:54A few blocks from Stanley's house, an area of prefab houses sat on the leading edge
0:19:54 > 0:20:01of the eye of the storm. The lightweight structures didn't stand a chance.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04'This, though, is the worst.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08'This is a trailer park at about 137th and 152nd.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11'There's many trailer parks here.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'Just another typical street here.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16'Everything... Total rubble.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23'Some people, the worst wind they've experienced
0:20:23 > 0:20:25'is a strong thunderstorm -
0:20:25 > 0:20:30'50mph gusts where power lines and trees go down.'
0:20:30 > 0:20:34The force of Andrew was 15 to 20 times that force.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Hurricane Andrew terrorised the people of Florida for six hours
0:20:43 > 0:20:48and, by morning, 23 people had lost their lives.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01High above the coast of Florida,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06there's a wind that's even faster than a hurricane.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08It's one of the fastest on Earth.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11It's called a jet stream -
0:21:11 > 0:21:16a massive river of wind 125 miles wide
0:21:16 > 0:21:18that circles the whole planet
0:21:18 > 0:21:21at up to 2-300 miles an hour.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26To get an idea of what that feels like, it's back to the wind tunnel.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- Yup.- OK.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36- This is attached to an anchor point in the ceiling...- Yeah. - It'll make sure that,
0:21:36 > 0:21:41if the wind does take you off your feet, then you'll be OK.
0:21:41 > 0:21:48This is actually a record attempt, because no-one has withstood the speed of a jet stream here before.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Lucky me(!)
0:21:51 > 0:21:56- We're aiming for the speed of the jet stream?- We can do it.
0:21:56 > 0:22:02- If it's too dangerous, you'll still do it! No, no! - You're a braver man than me!
0:22:04 > 0:22:08The jet stream wind we'll try and reproduce here
0:22:08 > 0:22:13was first discovered through a ingenious act of war.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21The story begins in Oregon in 1945, during the Second World War.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Some school children found a strange object.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29As they played with it, it exploded, killing them all.
0:22:33 > 0:22:40Similar objects were also found along the west coast of the USA and Canada.
0:22:40 > 0:22:46Closer inspection showed they were Japanese bombs carried by huge paper balloons.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54Canadian bomb-disposal expert Bert Day got a close-up look.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04This is one quarter of the chandelier that hung below the big paper bag
0:23:04 > 0:23:07that held up all the bombs.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12It's hard to believe, it's so complicated as hell! But it worked!
0:23:15 > 0:23:21This is one of the Japanese paper balloons, identified by the code name "paper".
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Blown by the winds, the bombs could land anywhere.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31The military worried about the panic that might develop.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36To cover it up, we blamed it on the Royal Canadian Air Force.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41We said that they had a bomb and it fell out of the plane, you know.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46The stupid bastards! We blamed it on them and got away with it.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52The mystery was how the balloons were getting from Japan to the USA.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57A balloon that size could only travel 4-500 miles
0:23:57 > 0:24:02and Japan was over four-and-a-half thousand miles away.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09The Japanese had discovered a fast-flowing stream of wind
0:24:09 > 0:24:13after flying over the Pacific TO the USA
0:24:13 > 0:24:17in HALF the time it took them to get back.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22It wasn't until after the war that the nature of the wind was revealed.
0:24:22 > 0:24:29The Japanese devised a cheap and effective way to bomb the USA by harnessing their knowledge.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32It was a brilliant idea.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Launched from three sites in Japan,
0:24:34 > 0:24:39an ingenious system of weights, altimeters and timers
0:24:39 > 0:24:45carried the balloons up to 50,000ft, until they entered what we now call the jet stream.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Caught in the flow, they were whisked over the Pacific
0:24:50 > 0:24:54and timed to drop onto the USA and Canada.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Down they'd come, all the way down, and whammo!
0:24:58 > 0:25:03They'd be in the trees with all the bombs hanging on them.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Japan's discovery of the jet stream
0:25:07 > 0:25:12meant America was defenceless against this ingenious attack.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16There was nothing we could do. It was quite a design.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20Smart! The Japs were sharp, no doubt about that.
0:25:24 > 0:25:30Despite the huge distance, over 1,000 balloon bombs DID reach North America
0:25:30 > 0:25:34but, in the end, only six people were ever killed.
0:25:34 > 0:25:40Today the jet streams are used for much more benign reasons...
0:25:40 > 0:25:43if you can ever find one!
0:25:47 > 0:25:52For world record balloonists Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56finding the jet stream became a matter of life and death.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Starting in Switzerland,
0:25:59 > 0:26:04the plan was to be the first balloon to circumnavigate the Earth.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08They hoped to do it by flying in the jet streams.
0:26:08 > 0:26:14We can't see the jet stream. We don't know where it'll form, so we use meteorologists.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18We had two meteorologists working full time,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22doing 10,000 calculations every day,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24to track where the jet stream was.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29There are five jet streams, between six and nine miles up.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33They mark the boundaries between the wind cells.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Low pressure air rises and meets high pressure air from the poles.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43Where they converge, a spinning tube of air is created.
0:26:43 > 0:26:49It's the free ride the jet stream gives that made them desperate to find the right one.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54It was just incredible, watching the speed build up.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58I thought, "I've no idea who's flying this balloon
0:26:58 > 0:27:02"but, please, carry on. You're doing a grand job!"
0:27:02 > 0:27:06And that's what the jet stream did!
0:27:08 > 0:27:15We'd gone round the world, crossed the Pacific and just had the Atlantic to go.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19And this is where it all began to go wrong.
0:27:19 > 0:27:25After 14 days, they'd travelled three-quarters of the way around the world
0:27:25 > 0:27:29before the jet stream suddenly abandoned them.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34And then, suddenly, it just disappeared.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39And it's sort of... It's like the fingers on a hand. It fragments.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46'We'd to drop down really low and wait for the next jet stream wind to form.'
0:27:46 > 0:27:53Pundits said we'd run out of fuel, we'd not make it across the Atlantic. We agreed.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59Faced with the threat of ditching in freezing, hostile seas,
0:27:59 > 0:28:04five days from the nearest help, the outlook appeared bleak.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08It's horribly slow. We're only doing 21 knots,
0:28:08 > 0:28:14so we're right out in the middle of nowhere and not going very fast.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Five agonising days passed.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22This was no longer a race for a world record.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25It was a desperate bid to stay alive...
0:28:25 > 0:28:28and then the jet stream reappeared.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35But to get back into it meant climbing higher and using up precious fuel.
0:28:35 > 0:28:43The balloon was getting lighter. In fact, we'd thrown stuff out over the ocean to try to make it lighter.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48We were able to push and push, just to get as high as we possibly could.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56When we got to that altitude, we got right into the jet stream wind.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02Suddenly we weren't doing 70mph. We were doing 120-130 and building!
0:29:02 > 0:29:07We shot across the Atlantic, in the core of this jet stream wind.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11We looked at each other and thought, "Fantastic!"
0:29:12 > 0:29:17There was just no question about us not making the finish line!
0:29:17 > 0:29:20We've done it! Yeah!
0:29:20 > 0:29:27From take off to touch down in North Africa, around the world in just 21 days.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33MACHINE WHIRRS LOUDLY
0:29:33 > 0:29:39'I'm ready for MY record-breaking attempt - the speed of the jet stream.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44'The tunnel can do it. The question is, can I?
0:29:44 > 0:29:50'No-one has withstood much more than 100mph in here... not yet, anyway!'
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Stop!
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Enough! Enough!
0:30:44 > 0:30:51'Nowhere near the speed of a jet stream, but I'm the first to withstand even this.'
0:30:51 > 0:30:56- HE CATCHES HIS BREATH - 'I wouldn't recommend it, though.'
0:30:56 > 0:31:01It feels like a massage by 100 sumo wrestlers! Oh, dear.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05An avalanche of wind... piercing your body,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09lashing your hands, body. One movement of the hands
0:31:09 > 0:31:13sent your body all the way over here! Ahh...
0:31:13 > 0:31:19In the real world, it's not like this. There's no safety lines, no controlled environments.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22It's a nightmare, you know.
0:31:22 > 0:31:28This was an average hurricane - terrifying enough - but without all this protection,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32I can't imagine what it'd be like. Incomprehensible!
0:31:34 > 0:31:37'136 is tough,
0:31:37 > 0:31:43'but Chad Urwin has been within 6 inches of a 300mph wind... and survived
0:31:43 > 0:31:46'when this tornado went over his head.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52'That's double the speed I've just tried.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58'Nature's winds are always savagely unpredictable.'
0:32:00 > 0:32:03We were watching the news about the tornado
0:32:03 > 0:32:06that was coming out of south west.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10It came over there and was a mile-and-a-half wide.
0:32:10 > 0:32:17You could see the tornado sitting on top of the hill. It sat for a minute, then made a motion to the right.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22It picked up a 26,000-square-foot church, spun it around completely,
0:32:22 > 0:32:28turned it upside down and slammed it down to the ground like Tinker Toys.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31We came over here...
0:32:31 > 0:32:37We were pelted by gravel coming down the road at 100mph, something like that.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44We came here. My son wavered, like he'd get blown into the pond.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49And we ran down this way...
0:32:49 > 0:32:53And then we got in here. All of us got in here.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58Walked on our knees until we got into the centre.
0:32:58 > 0:33:03Then we rode the tornado out while we were sitting in here.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10So how does wind spin itself into such a concentrated killer?
0:33:10 > 0:33:16The exact mechanism is unclear, but it seems our friend the jet stream plays a part.
0:33:17 > 0:33:23Tornadoes form in huge rotating thunderstorms known as super-cells.
0:33:23 > 0:33:29These can rise as much as eight miles into the sky and, as they grow upwards,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34they encounter jet streams. These fast high-level rivers of wind
0:33:34 > 0:33:39suck air out the top, causing MORE air to be sucked in at the bottom.
0:33:39 > 0:33:45This creates turbulence in the storm that causes the air in it to roll over itself.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50The result is a horizontal spinning vortex of air.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56Strong updraughts push the vortex into a tube and force it downwards.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00When it touches the Earth, a twister is born.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08The consequences can be lethal.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13I feel sorry for the other people out here that lost loved ones.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18I came out and saw a boy and his mother trying to get into the house.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21I said, "Where's your mother at?"
0:34:21 > 0:34:27He said, "I was walking with her. The tornado just sucked her out of my hand."
0:34:27 > 0:34:31She didn't make it. She died that night.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39After the storm, evidence emerged that vehicles - and even people -
0:34:39 > 0:34:44had been sucked into the tornado and carried vast distances.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Chad was one of the few survivors to witness it.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52A van and a pick-up came here from Oklahoma, 55 miles away.
0:34:52 > 0:35:00This guy who's supposed to have been dropped in this pond came from Chickasaw, which is 30 miles away.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04This particular tornado is a rare beast - an F5 -
0:35:04 > 0:35:09the most powerful on the Fujita tornado scale.
0:35:09 > 0:35:14It contained the fastest winds ever recorded - a staggering 318mph.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20At these speeds, wind can rip the tarmac from a road.
0:35:20 > 0:35:26The force on the ground is the same as the shock wave from a nuclear bomb.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32My wife said, "How's the house?" I said, "What house?"
0:35:32 > 0:35:37She said, "Don't joke!" I said, "I'm not joking. Our house isn't here.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40"Nothing! There's nothing out here."
0:35:40 > 0:35:46It breaks your heart every day when you find something that belonged to you.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51I walk on the hill and look for things that belonged to me.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Once in a while I get lucky and find something.
0:35:55 > 0:36:01The little town of Bridge Creek, south of Oklahoma City, was the worst affected.
0:36:01 > 0:36:08In just 15 minutes, the twister devastated the community and in the hours that followed,
0:36:08 > 0:36:13people struggled to the school gym, one of the few remaining buildings.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16HUBBUB OF VOICES
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Their injuries were horrific.
0:36:20 > 0:36:27The twister had thrown tons of metal, wood and glass into the air with the power of a machine gun.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31The survivors bore all the hallmarks.
0:36:31 > 0:36:37Flecks of dirt were driven at such high speeds, they'd been forced deep into the skin.
0:36:37 > 0:36:44In an area of less than two square miles, ten of their neighbours had been killed.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48The next day, the damage became clear.
0:36:48 > 0:36:55The tornado had mown a vast strip 20 miles long through the town and surrounding hills.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01In all, 65 tornadoes hit the Oklahoma region that day.
0:37:01 > 0:37:0642 people died and nearly 3,500 homes were destroyed
0:37:06 > 0:37:09in just 11 hours.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Several people were killed by that tornado.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21People like the Darnells who lived up here on the hill.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Kelly Cox, that lost her mother.
0:37:24 > 0:37:29Then the Woods. They lived over the hill over here.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Those people always haunt me.
0:37:33 > 0:37:40I hope I never have to go through anything like that again. Once is enough.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51When a powerful wind hits an object on land,
0:37:51 > 0:37:57it unleashes some energy - a house pulverised or forest laid flat.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01But when wind hits water, the energy transfer can be awesome.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Wind creates friction on any surface.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12But the largest on the planet is the ocean, covering 70 per cent.
0:38:12 > 0:38:17Therefore, the friction between wind and water has amazing results!
0:38:17 > 0:38:22So, here in Hawaii is the best place to test
0:38:22 > 0:38:27the enormous energy generated by the friction between the two.
0:38:27 > 0:38:33The folks here are world experts at harnessing it in any way they can.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37With just a few metres of nylon and a 20mph breeze,
0:38:37 > 0:38:44the power of the wind can be turned into a maximum-strength adrenaline buzz!
0:38:46 > 0:38:52Champion kite surfer Marigold Zoll claims she can get me airborne in an afternoon.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57It can't be that difficult. It's only a kite, after all!
0:39:05 > 0:39:09If you double the wind speed, you get four times the force.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13So add a few mph to the wind speed against my kite
0:39:13 > 0:39:18and, in theory, there'd be enough power to lift a family car!
0:39:18 > 0:39:23However, it seems that's not going to work for me!
0:39:24 > 0:39:29- We're using a bigger kite.- Yup.- I'm a bit heavy and we need some air!
0:39:29 > 0:39:32- That's the reason, isn't it?- Yes.
0:39:45 > 0:39:51A bit of the ballerina about me out there, I thought. Very smooth! Hmm.
0:39:51 > 0:39:56- You were definitely on your toes! - Am I a too smug for a beginner?
0:39:56 > 0:39:59We'll see how you do on the board!
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Just as wind pushes against my kite,
0:40:15 > 0:40:21it also pushes against the surface of the water. The result...is waves.
0:40:21 > 0:40:26But getting onto them is not quite as easy as it looks.
0:40:29 > 0:40:34That's what tiddly Hawaiian waves can do! Eat you in and spit you out.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Imagine what the whoppers will do!
0:40:54 > 0:41:01When you think of the chaotic way waves are born, it's a wonder that there's any order to them at all!
0:41:01 > 0:41:05In fact, every ocean has its own unique wave rhythm.
0:41:08 > 0:41:15You can tell the size of ocean by the number of times a wave breaks in a single minute.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21In Hawaii, you get about seven crashing ashore every 60 seconds.
0:41:23 > 0:41:30And over here, 10,500 miles to the east, on the far shore of the Atlantic
0:41:30 > 0:41:33on the Irish coast, you get...
0:41:34 > 0:41:41..eight waves a minute. But if I go back there 5,000 miles,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44over to the much smaller Gulf of Mexico,
0:41:44 > 0:41:48you can count many more waves per minute.
0:41:48 > 0:41:519...10...11...
0:41:51 > 0:41:54There are 12 per minute.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56That's five more than in Hawaii.
0:41:57 > 0:42:04That's because the Atlantic and Pacific are far bigger oceans than the Gulf of Mexico.
0:42:04 > 0:42:10The bigger the ocean, the more time and space for wind to act upon it.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15The longer the wind blows on a wave, the larger it becomes
0:42:15 > 0:42:18and more distant from other waves.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23So, in bigger oceans you get bigger waves and fewer of them -
0:42:23 > 0:42:257 every minute on the Pacific coast
0:42:25 > 0:42:29compared to 12 in the smaller Gulf of Mexico.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34Woo!
0:42:35 > 0:42:39If there is no wind, there's no wave.
0:42:40 > 0:42:46It's the erratic nature of the winds stabbing at the surface that gives birth to the waves.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50The further across the sea the wind blows,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53the bigger the wave it creates.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Wind and water are in constant contact,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05each creating friction against each other.
0:43:05 > 0:43:12This friction whips up the ocean, sculpting water into its most beautiful form.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31Elsewhere in the world, a powerful wind can turn waves into monsters.
0:43:31 > 0:43:36A big storm on one side of an ocean can push rollers thousands of miles
0:43:36 > 0:43:39onto beaches on the other side.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43But if a massive storm travels across the ocean,
0:43:43 > 0:43:45the waves it creates can be deadly.
0:43:48 > 0:43:54So what happens when the winds blow up a real tempest at sea?
0:43:54 > 0:43:57The answer is a lot closer to home.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Having travelled across the Atlantic to Ireland,
0:44:01 > 0:44:07I'm now about to see what happens when the wind and the waves combine
0:44:07 > 0:44:14with the power of the jet stream and the intensity of a hurricane. Few people have witnessed it.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Below me is the Fastnet race.
0:44:17 > 0:44:23It's where the very best yachtsmen come to pit their wits
0:44:23 > 0:44:25against the world's roughest seas.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45This is the Fastnet Rock off the southern tip of Ireland.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49It's one of most westerly points in Europe
0:44:49 > 0:44:52and feels the full force of Atlantic storms.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57Some of the really big ones come from the USA,
0:44:57 > 0:44:59carried by transatlantic Westerlies.
0:44:59 > 0:45:05Given the right conditions, these storms can whip the seas around us
0:45:05 > 0:45:08into terrifying walls of water,
0:45:08 > 0:45:13which have even reached over the top of the lighthouse.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27In the summer of 1979,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30just a few miles from where I am standing,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34a storm of almost unprecedented ferocity set in,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37unlike any other in these waters.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40It spelt disaster for the few yachtsmen and women
0:45:40 > 0:45:44who were unlucky enough to be caught up in it.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49They're not like breaking waves on the beach, which are lovely to watch.
0:45:49 > 0:45:56They're like monsters. They rumble and as they charge down the face of the wave, they build.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00They are huge and they engulf you, and they did.
0:46:00 > 0:46:05But at the heart of that terrible storm, there remains a mystery
0:46:05 > 0:46:09that hints at a freak weather phenomenon.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13The start couldn't have been in better conditions,
0:46:13 > 0:46:17perfect conditions - good visibility, light breeze.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22It was the dream start to the race we'd looked forward to.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26In 1979, Matt Sheehan was 17 years old
0:46:26 > 0:46:32and working as crew on his father's boat during the Fastnet yacht race.
0:46:32 > 0:46:38The 600-mile course round the legendary lighthouse is the perfect place
0:46:38 > 0:46:42to stretch the world's best to their limits.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47But 1979 was different.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50A hot summer's day in North America,
0:46:50 > 0:46:52a freak weather phenomenon,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55and a lighthouse off Ireland's coast
0:46:55 > 0:47:02were about to play a part in the closest thing sailors have ever come to hell.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06An event like the '79 Fastnet leaves you in no doubt
0:47:06 > 0:47:09as to how powerful the weather can be.
0:47:09 > 0:47:16A small change is enough to turn what you think is a situation that is under control,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19that you may be apprehensive about,
0:47:19 > 0:47:22but you're under control, into complete chaos.
0:47:22 > 0:47:27On August the 10th, 4,000 miles away to the west,
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Low Y, as the storm would come to be known,
0:47:30 > 0:47:35was beginning to form in the skies of the USA's Northern Great Plains.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39Hot summer air mixed with cold air from the north.
0:47:39 > 0:47:45These storms are normally harmless and burn themselves out in a day or so.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49At the same time, back on this side of the Atlantic,
0:47:49 > 0:47:54Fastnet competitors were worried that there wouldn't be ENOUGH wind.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Far above the storm in America,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00the jet stream swung slightly south
0:48:00 > 0:48:05and began to blow over the top of the storm, accelerating wind speeds.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09The whole system was then pushed out east,
0:48:09 > 0:48:13gaining strength and speed with every hour.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18News that Low Y was on the way reached the yachts later that night.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23We were pretty well organised, battened down and ready to face it.
0:48:25 > 0:48:30Low Y was expected to head straight for France, well away from Fastnet,
0:48:30 > 0:48:35but at the last minute, it turned and headed north towards the Rock.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39On the evening of August 13th,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41the storm slammed into the race.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45What happened then, as things developed,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49was that it did get very uncomfortable.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51The chaotic fury of the storm
0:48:51 > 0:48:55caused rapid changes in wind direction,
0:48:55 > 0:49:00which created towering waves that battered the boats from all sides,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02making them almost uncontrollable.
0:49:06 > 0:49:07Matt and the other experienced sailors were shocked and confused.
0:49:07 > 0:49:12The crests of waves would break way above you and, in the darkness,
0:49:12 > 0:49:17you'd hear rumbling. You'd think, "Where on Earth is it coming from?"
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Every now and then, to your horror,
0:49:19 > 0:49:27you'd see it coming down towards the boat. That was one of the most frightening things about the ordeal -
0:49:27 > 0:49:31not knowing where these waves were coming from.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36At the heart of the storm, a highly unusual event was taking place.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40When all the weather records were analysed,
0:49:40 > 0:49:44they revealed the presence of a unique phenomenon -
0:49:44 > 0:49:52a freak event where a tongue of cold, dry air from high in the stratosphere, a "surface jet",
0:49:52 > 0:49:56forced itself down into the heart of the storm.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58The effect was like turbo-charging.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02It split a normal storm into several systems,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05each with strength of a hurricane.
0:50:05 > 0:50:12By the early hours of the next morning, mayday calls were jamming the emergency radio frequency.
0:50:12 > 0:50:19Reports were coming in of 50-foot waves like blocks of flats and 70mph winds.
0:50:19 > 0:50:25The one that caused the biggest problem came rumbling down and hit us,
0:50:25 > 0:50:29overturned us, but this time the boat didn't come upright.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32This time it remained upside down.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40As I was held down in the water, I just felt cross and disappointed.
0:50:40 > 0:50:45Disappointed because there were so many other things I wanted to do.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49While Matt was underwater fighting for his life,
0:50:49 > 0:50:54his father David had also been swept overboard.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58I stood up and saw the very thing I least wanted to see.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03I don't know why, I knew straight away, but it was my father
0:51:03 > 0:51:07lying face down in the water, just drifting away.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13And that was the last I ever saw of him.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21As we flew back, looking out of the window,
0:51:21 > 0:51:24it was just a scene of chaos.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27Some people were firing off distress flares,
0:51:27 > 0:51:31desperate to be seen and picked up.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34That was when it really struck me
0:51:34 > 0:51:38how serious...the whole scene... had been.
0:51:41 > 0:51:48Tragically, the storm they called Low Y was responsible for 15 deaths in the Fastnet race.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53Some were washed overboard, others died trapped inside their vessels,
0:51:53 > 0:52:00but many more died in life rafts that proved inadequate for such awful conditions.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05Friends of mine who were involved in the storm at that time,
0:52:05 > 0:52:07and people who I've met since then,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10have sailed round the world.
0:52:10 > 0:52:16All of them say they had never seen anything like the conditions they saw
0:52:16 > 0:52:19in this small area in the Irish sea.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26This was wind and waves at their wildest.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30They defeated the best sailors in the world.
0:52:30 > 0:52:36But there is a wind that creates the biggest waves in the solar system.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38It's the fastest wind of them all.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00And up here on one of Hawaii's highest mountains
0:53:00 > 0:53:03is the place to see it.
0:53:03 > 0:53:09But at a speed of 4 million miles per hour, you need some specialist kit,
0:53:09 > 0:53:15because this wind comes from space. It's called the solar wind,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18and when it arrives down here,
0:53:18 > 0:53:22it creates the most spectacular show on Earth.
0:53:30 > 0:53:3493 million miles away, the sun erupts,
0:53:34 > 0:53:38spewing a barrage of charged particles out into space.
0:53:38 > 0:53:43A solar wind travels at up to 4 million miles an hour,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47but because there are so few particles in it,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50it wouldn't even ruffle your hair.
0:53:50 > 0:53:56In fact, as I speak, billions of charged particles are passing right through us all
0:53:56 > 0:54:00and by now, they are already way out in space.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04Although we can't see or feel the solar wind,
0:54:04 > 0:54:11we can see its presence in one of nature's most fantastic displays of light,
0:54:11 > 0:54:1365 miles above our heads.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18The aurora - the northern and southern lights.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22What you are looking at is billions of electrons -
0:54:22 > 0:54:24charged particles in the solar wind
0:54:24 > 0:54:29that hit the atmosphere and excite the gases within it,
0:54:29 > 0:54:32creating the ultimate space rainbow.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43As the solar wind washes over the Earth's magnetic field,
0:54:43 > 0:54:48the charged particles within are drawn down over the polar regions.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52When they hit the atmosphere, the aurora is created.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55It's the same mechanism
0:54:55 > 0:54:59that's making the picture you are watching right now.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03The earth's magnetic force guides the particles
0:55:03 > 0:55:08in the same way that your TV tube guides these images onto the screen.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12But does the solar wind affect our weather?
0:55:14 > 0:55:17Yes, but no-one knows exactly how.
0:55:17 > 0:55:22It certainly seems to affect the ferocity of polar storms.
0:55:22 > 0:55:27Some believe that particles from the sun crash into the troposphere,
0:55:27 > 0:55:32creating more clouds and fuelling more storms.
0:55:32 > 0:55:37While scientists cannot agree on exactly how solar winds do this,
0:55:37 > 0:55:41they realise that the forces that drive our weather
0:55:41 > 0:55:46do not stop at the boundary between Earth and space.
0:55:53 > 0:55:59Back down on Earth, this frozen landscape marks the end of my journey.
0:55:59 > 0:56:04The winds I have followed from the equator
0:56:04 > 0:56:09have taken about 14 days to enter the last of the big wind cells.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16It's been quite a ride.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Here, in the frozen north,
0:56:19 > 0:56:24the wind's journey to the poles finally comes to an end.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31In just two weeks,
0:56:31 > 0:56:36our journey, which began in the hot stillness of the doldrums
0:56:36 > 0:56:40has brought us everything from storms at sea
0:56:40 > 0:56:43to the terrifying power of a hurricane.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50After carrying all this violence, it comes to rest here,
0:56:50 > 0:56:53sinking gently back towards Earth.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59Now all this cold air begins to slip south,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01and the cycle starts all over again.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06This enormous cycle of the winds
0:57:06 > 0:57:12has brought every kind of weather to every corner of the Earth.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15As it churns through the atmosphere,
0:57:15 > 0:57:17it shapes our world and changes our lives.
0:57:17 > 0:57:23In the next programme, I am going to take a ride with water,
0:57:23 > 0:57:25the fuel of the weather.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30Driven by the winds, water can bring life and death.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32I'll be following water's journey
0:57:32 > 0:57:38from the oceans to the clouds, from a storm to a flood,
0:57:38 > 0:57:42to experience the awesome power it can unleash.
0:58:14 > 0:58:20Subtitles by Susan Mason and Judith Simpson BBC Broadcast 2002
0:58:20 > 0:58:23E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk