Source: https://www.godgobless.com/2018/07/the-great-storm-of-1703-history-to-be.html?m=1

On the night of 7 December 1703, the United Kingdom experienced an extreme weather event.

Following weeks of wind and rain, a cyclone blew through the country at midnight, from the Welsh coasts to the Midlands and the south of England, hitting the cities of Bristol and London in particular. The storm also wreaked havoc in continental Europe, causing severe damage in the Netherlands, the Danish islands and Germany.

Remembered through history as the "Great Storm of 1703", it is a contender for the worst storm Britain has ever seen. Queen Anne described it as "a Calamity so Dreadful and Astonishing, that the like hath not been Seen or Felt, in the Memory of any Person Living in this Our Kingdom.

The most severe storm according to Lamb's index was the storm of 1987 with a score of 20,000, followed by the storms of 1792 (12,000), 1825 (12,000) and 1694 (10,000, but with the caveat that this storm is poorly known because it happened so long ago).

So why has the Great Storm of 1703 remained in collective memory, more so than several others that were apparently more severe? Partly it is thanks to Defoe and his detailed and popular account, which turned the storm into Britain's first weather-related major news story.

Source: https://www.godgobless.com/2018/07/the-great-storm-of-1703-history-to-be.html?m=1