My latest expat blog posting: How Britain is safer than the USA

I've been doing a humorous blog about living in the UK for a few months now covering topics like: British biscuits, the UK's obsession with Dick Van Dyke, why the Brits hate Halloween...

My latest is a risk assessment comparing things that could kill you in the UK versus the USA.

Hope somebody out there enjoys it: http://expatclaptrap.com/

Haha, the skull and cross bones cracked me up!  I will say that my DH has often told me that there are more tornadoes per year in the UK than in the US, they's just not big enough to do anything (usually)! 

I read all your blog posts earlier today - they're really great and I laughed out loud a few times... although as a born-and-raised Brit I do have to disagree with a couple of your biscuit and food analyses (Tuna mayo on a jacket potato is one of the best things ever, and I love bourbon biscuits, though I usually bake my own rather than buy them  ).

Haha, the skull and cross bones cracked me up!  I will say that my DH has often told me that there are more tornadoes per year in the UK than in the US, they's just not big enough to do anything (usually)! 

Well, there aren't more tornadoes in total per year in the UK, but there are more tornadoes per unit area in the UK than there are in the US.

There are about 1,000 tornadoes reported in the US per year, which is 2.6 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles per year. In the UK, there are about 40 reported each year, which equates to 4.3 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles per year.

Most UK tornadoes occur behind an unstable cold front where thunderstorms are likely to form, it's just that they are unlikely to cause much, if any damage due to lack of meteorological forcing, the large temperature gradients and long landtracks that allow destructive US tornadoes to form.

Well, there aren't more tornadoes in total per year in the UK, but there are more tornadoes per unit area in the UK than there are in the US.

Is that what he's saying?  Good to know.  Right about there is the point where I go 'That's nice, dear.'  Very interesting so thanks for explaining that!

Is that what he's saying?  Good to know.  Right about there is the point where I go 'That's nice, dear.'  Very interesting so thanks for explaining that!

I don't know if that's what he's saying or not - he might not realise the difference . I only know because I'm a meteorologist and it's my job to know the difference .

I was just clarifying the statistics... it's not true that the UK gets more tornadoes per year than the US, because we definitely don't (40 in the UK vs 1,000 in the US), but it is true that we get more per square mile than the US, because we're so much smaller in area .

Regarding strength though Ks, are the US tornadoes more intense? Footage of those super cell things in the mid West are incredible.

Regarding strength though Ks, are the US tornadoes more intense? Footage of those super cell things in the mid West are incredible.

Much more intense. UK tornadoes are generally very weak - most of them graded F0 or F1, with winds of 40-72 and 73-112 mph respectively, which can cause damage to buildings, trees or cars, while US tornadoes can get up to F4 or F5 (207-260 mph and 261-318 mph respectively) and can wipe out whole towns.

The weather conditions in the US are much more favourable for tornado development due to the large amount of energy available to form them - it's why thunderstorms are much more intense there - they have a large expanse of land to form over, much more extreme temperatures and a lot more time to develop.

UK tornadoes




US tornadoes

I don't know if that's what he's saying or not - he might not realise the difference . I only know because I'm a meteorologist and it's my job to know the difference .

I was just clarifying the statistics... it's not true that the UK gets more tornadoes per year than the US, because we definitely don't (40 in the UK vs 1,000 in the US), but it is true that we get more per square mile than the US, because we're so much smaller in area .

I'm glad that you did because I find it very interesting.  I didn't grow up in an area that is prone to disastrous tornadoes but I've seen my fair share of F2 and F3s coming across the fields.  I was surprised when my husband said that the UK had more tornadoes  because I just didn't think it was true.  Thanks to you I now understand a little better.  I think he means more per square mile, not more overall.

Quite fascinating about UK tornadoes- thanks for the info.

But keep in mind my blog was about things more likely to kill you - not their overall frequency in either country. Plenty of spiders in the UK for example, but far far fewer venomous ones than in the US.

Loads of Americans get killed by tornadoes- I could find no info on any UK tornado-related deaths. Some injuries in 2006, but no deaths and I looked many years back. 

Glad you're enjoying the blog.

things more likely to kill you

Well now, it was entertaining and has spurred a broader conversation! My South African friend, when I mentioned it said that where he was from you had to keep an eye out for lions on the walk to school. This led me to this chilling blurb:

"Author Robert R. Frump wrote in The Man-eaters of Eden that Mozambican refugees regularly crossing Kruger National Park at night in South Africa are attacked and eaten by the lions; park officials have conceded that man-eating is a problem there. Frump believes thousands may have been killed in the decades after apartheid sealed the park and forced the refugees to cross the park at night."

He also said that mambas, on chilly evenings, would sneak in the bathroom and wrap themselves around the hot water pipes to keep warm. I had to ask him what they did about it. He said you just ignored them and they would usually slither out as the day warmed.