STORMS which ripped through Aberystwyth in 2013 inspired a new book that looks at extreme weather throughout Wales.

Aberystwyth-based photographer Iestyn Hughes, said his new book, Tywydd Mawr – Extreme Weather in Wales, published this week, was the result of countless archive studies after becoming “motivated” by shots he took of the winter storms which tore into parts of Aberystwyth and the Ceredigion coast.

“I was motivated to compile this book following the terrific storms of 2013/2014 which thrust Aberystwyth into the media spotlight,” Iestyn said.

“Having always been someone who took a peculiar delight in storm watching, I hung around and documented much of this exceptional period with my camera.

“I was asked to contribute to a film on the weather and climate change, and this stirred my interest in the broader historical context of the weather as it had affected Wales over the centuries. Is the recent unpredictable weather brought about by climate change, or, when set in the context that’s longer than a memory of a generation, is it part of a natural long term pattern?”

As the world’s climate changes each year, the book shows the impact of these effects on the Alps and glacier shrinkage in Canada but primarily the dramatic views from across Wales – snow of 1947 and 1978, the summer drought of 1976, the 2003 floods, and the storms of 2013/14 along the west coast of Wales.

Tywydd Mawr – Extreme Weather in Wales is a comprehensive volume that contains well over a hundred photographs and drawings of extreme weather in Wales.

See this week’s south editions for the full story, in shops and online now