When she realized she was a sitting duck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Black turned around and found herself directly in the path of the most violent part of the storm.

NPR: Cleanup Goes On As Storms Move Toward East Coast

Grace Darling and her father rowed out to rescue the crew of the SS Forfarshire in a violent storm.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | Tyne/Wear | Museum to sea heroine wins grant

In 1992, a container ship that left Hong Kong carrying tens of thousands of yellow ducks spilled into the Pacific Ocean during a violent storm.

WSJ: In Hong Kong, Giant Duck Makes a Splash

The USS Akron, a 785-foot dirigible, was in its third year of flight when a violent storm sent it plunging tail-first into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after midnight on April 4, 1933.

NPR: Forgotten US Airship Crash Recalled 80 Years Later

It is feared the hurricane could combine with a winter storm crossing from the west - intensifying its power and lashing the region with violent winds, rain and snow.

BBC: Tribute paid to British banker killed in hurricane

Well before Oklahoma's first thunderstorms fired up at late afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman was already forecasting a violent evening.

WSJ: Tornado-Hit Oklahoma Struck Again; Mother and Baby Dead

The idea is, is that as the planet as a whole gets warmer, you start seeing changing weather patterns, and that creates more violent storm systems, more unpredictable weather.

WHITEHOUSE: Help for Homeowners in the Hardest Hit States