Guardian:
Daniel Defoe (1661–1731), an English novelist,
journalist, and traveler, was also, apparently, an amateur
meteorologist. He reported dozens of events involving the
devastation wrought by strong winds, such as the damage from
the Great Storm of 26 November 1703. He observed that more
tiles were blown off the lee side of the houses than the sides
facing the wind and that hundreds of windmills were destroyed
because the wind turned them so fast that friction caused them
to overheat and catch fire.
