On this day (November 12) in 1940, an Atlantic storm battered Ireland, setting a wind speed record for the month of November.

While the all-time national sustained wind record of 131 km/h was recorded in January 1945, the 1940 storm set its own monthly benchmark.

Foynes Airbase in County Limerick, a key hub for transatlantic flying boats, recorded a sustained wind speed of 117 km/h, the highest ever for November in Ireland.

A weather map for midday on Tuesday, November 12, 1940, shows a deep low-pressure system with a central pressure of 965 hPa located east of Scotland. Ireland lay directly in the path of the strongest winds, which wrapped around the south of the system.

Coastal regions, particularly in the west and northwest, bore the brunt of the storm, experiencing heavy rain and severe squalls.