On 16 October 1987 at 4am in the morning air pressure dropped from 980 to 960 hPa with the average wind speed exceeding 50 mph and gusting at 98 mph. With such strong winds this storm wrecked havoc all along the South Coast. In Chichester Harbour 250 vessels were either sunk or swept ashore. The predicted tide was 3.4m and the actual tide 5.1m. Even substantial vessels sank on their moorings.