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Wild Winds: Twisters, Tornados, Dust Devils, Whirlwinds & Waterspouts

Mini 'tornado' batters village

A Ceredigion village has been hit overnight by what is being described as a small tornado.
Emergency services were called to Bow Street, north of Aberystwyth, shortly after 0200 GMT.

More than 20 properties have been damaged with roofs and chimneys blown off, while electricity cables have been brought down and trees uprooted.

Residents recalled their properties shaking but none of them are believed to have been injuried .

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesman said: "It was apparent that what is believed to be a tornado had struck parts of the village.

"Commercial and residential premises, vehicles and caravans were damaged."

Kevin Walsh, the owner of a bungalow which had its chimney ripped off by high winds, said: "At quarter past one this morning I heard a rumble coming, didn't know what it was, and then it hit the house.

"The house shock, I heard a crash. I came outside and found the stack here.

"It hit us first and then sliced a path through the village.

"Across the road there's a house there whose roof has been taken off. Further down another roof's been taken off.

"It was just an amazing, amazing experience."

Railway closed

Mid and West Wales fire service said 23 properties were damaged and crews spent five hours overnight clearing debris and making roofs safe.

The main road through Bow Street, the A487, was closed for four hours while the properties were made safe and the highways authority cleared debris.

Council highways officer Andy Dunn said: "A number of cars have been damaged with falling debris.

"A caravan's been turned over, part of a roof's been taken off and I believe there's a few trees which have fallen across the railway line from Machynlleth to Aberystwyth."

British Transport Police said a railway bridge has been damaged and about half a mile of track through the village has been littered with debris.

It is thought the line between Aberystwyth and Borth could be closed for much of the day while the debris is cleared up.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said it was too early to confirm whether it was a tornado that had hit the village.

A spokesperson said: "It's very difficult to tell at this stage - we really need to see the impact in the daylight.

"It often leaves a trail mark if it is a tornado. It's certainly a possibility."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6190372.stm
 
Houses 'blown to bits' by tornado

The front pages of a number of the papers show a picture of a house ripped apart by the violent tornado which swept through north-west London.
"Blown to bits," reads the Daily Mirror's headline. It goes on to quote the house's owner Fiona Mulaisho.

"I was on the street looking into what was once my living room," she says.

The Daily Telegraph says that, while six people were injured and 150 homes were damaged, it was a miracle no-one was killed.

Trees uprooted

The Sun reports that millions of pounds worth of damage was caused by London's 10-second tornado.

Trees were uprooted and wheelie bins and flower pots were tossed through the air, it says.

All the papers report how one man was taken to hospital after he was hit in the head by debris.

While fire crews dealt with the carnage, police led an evacuation of the affected streets of Kensal Rise, the Guardian reports.

Tornado prone

The Times points out that Thursday's violent tornado in north-west London was far from being a UK first.

It cites trees smashed down by a tornado in London 52 years ago.

The Independent goes on to say that tornadoes have become more frequent in the UK in the past five years, with up to 70 a year.

The Daily Mail is far bolder, describing England as the most tornado-prone area on Earth. The US has more but over a bigger area, it says.

Impending doom

Eye-witnesses offer the most descriptive accounts of Thursday's tornado in Kensal Rise, London.

The Daily Mail quotes Piyel Haldar, 40.

"I remember thinking it was apocalyptic - it lasted about 20 seconds," he says.

"The air was humming and vibrating," says Australian Rachel Neil in the Daily Express, adding it was worse than the cyclones of her homeland.

"It was as if something evil was in the air. There was a feeling of impending doom... then my windows blew up."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6220110.stm
 
The Outer Hebrides are hardly the American mid-west, are they?

Mini tornado wreaks havoc on isle

A number of cars and homes have been damaged by a mini tornado which hit the Isle of Lewis.

The twister, in Stornoway, flipped one car upside down, narrowly missing the fuel depot near the ferry terminal.

Slates, ridging and iron-work were also ripped off some houses following the weather phenomenon which happened just after 2200 BST on Tuesday.

Lightning also caused power to be lost across the town after residents reported hearing a 10-second blast.

Leicestershire couple Darren and Cathie Cassie and their two children had their camper van shaken so hard that one of the children was thrown out of a bunk and only a tractor parked next to the caravan stopped it overturning.

Mrs Cassie told BBC Scotland: "The van started to shake, almost like you were in an earthquake and then it tipped sideways.

"Fortunately we were parked right next to a tractor. It tipped into the tractor and then tipped back again."

Mr Cassie added: "We were very lucky. We were physically shaken but our kids were all right."

Most of the affected homes were in James Street and the Garden Road area, where a number of cars were also damaged.

BBC Stornoway reporter Norman Campbell said the tornado appeared to travel from the ferry terminal area, up Matheson Road to the Goathill area, where a number of trees had branches stripped off.

The coastguard said it had been aware of a sudden brief rise in the wind and a strange noise.

Lightning also affected a water pumping station in the Sand Street area of the town.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/hig ... 173784.stm
 
Twisters wreak havoc as they tear across Norfolk at 100mph
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:00 AM on 9th June 2010

These pictures show the trail of destruction left by two 80ft high tornadoes which ripped across ten miles of countryside - in Norfolk.
The powerful 'Fen Twisters' gusting at over 100mph tore the roofs from buildings, toppled trees and even hurled a trampoline into power lines causing a blackout for 300 homes.

They left gardens and woodland damaged across the area between Marshland St James and Stradsett after striking 'out of the blue' during freak storms on Sunday afternoon.
The roof of an out-building was ripped off and dumped on top of a tree 330 feet away in Stradsett and a summer house was lifted from a garden and dumped in a field.
Dozens of trees were pulled from the ground in neighbouring woodland owned by The Stradsett Estate.

Gamekeeper Max Stuart, 29, watched in horror as the 80-foot funnel tore across the field towards his cottage in Stradsett, near King's Lynn, at around 3pm.
He shouted to his fiancee Yvette Aldsworth and daughter Emilia, three, to keep away from the windows as the twister rampaged through his garden.
He said: 'It was like something out of the film Twister.
'There was debris, leaves and branches swirling round in the wind. It must have lasted about a minute and went over a mile across the estate.
'We were in the middle of a twister - it passed straight through the houses.
'It snapped trees as wide as a car tyre clean off. It was very scary, I've never seen anything like it.
'It was raining heavily, the noise from the wind was extremely loud.'

The tornado swept across the field narrowly missing three horses before it swept across the gardens of his neighbour Dave Harris.
It ripped the roof off a brick out-building and dumped it in the tree across the busy A1122.

Mr Harris, a sergeant and engineer at RAF Marham, had been shopping with fiancee Clare Findull, 45, and daughter Sophie Findull, 19.
He said: 'As we came round the corner we thought there had been an accident as there was debris all over the road.
'Then we saw stuff from our garden in a tree and field. If it had hit the house it would have had the roof off. It pretty much smashed the garden up.
'It left a trail of destruction - you could see the line it had taken across the garden and through a hedge.
'It was extremely powerful and we were very lucky.'

Sophie's brother Lewis, 16, was at home when the tornado tore through the garden.
He said: 'I looked out and saw all the debris. I saw trees bending over then the power cut off.'
A trampoline in his neighbour Martin Richmond's garden was picked up and dumped on power lines causing a blackout to 300 homes.

Mr Richmond and his family had been to the coast to celebrate his 57th birthday when the tornado hit.
He said: 'We came back to this disaster, it was just out of this world.'

Dozens of trees were destroyed on woodland at The Stradsett Estate, owned by Sir Jeremy Bagge.
At Marshland St James the roofs of three bungalows were damaged in Smeeth Road and Second World war veteran Ken Adams, 90, found his summer house dumped in a neighbour's garden.
He said: 'I heard a loud roar but it was stormy outside and I didn't think anything of it until a neighbour came over to ask if I was OK because there had been a tornado.
'I then looked outside and my summer house was gone - the tornado had lifted it up, put it over the high hedge at the back of my garden and on to the field behind.' :shock:

It caused hundreds of pounds of damage to pensioner Jean Barker's home, lifting the roof off husband Derek's shed, blowing over a bird table, leaving garden pots damaged and a fountain smashed.
Mrs Barker, 77, said: 'It was raining really hard and then I heard the noise of this wind, then everything went.'

Another tornado was spotted by researchers Weatherquest on Sunday in Long Stratton, near Norwich.

Tornado-chaser Chris Bell took a series of stunning photos of the funnel cloud as he tracked the twister across Norfolk.
He said: 'There was definitely enough spin in Sunday's storms to produce a tornado or two.
'We had an area of low pressure moving of to the east and there was a lot of unstable air behind it, so it's not a huge surprise.'

John Hammond, forecaster at The Met Office, said: 'These tornadoes are part of the weather system in this country and we have around 30 a year but it is rare for it to cause this level of destruction.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0qLQji6DD
 
Tornado rips through sleepy Suffolk village leaving trail of destruction
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:38 AM on 25th August 2010

A freak tornado left a trail of destruction after it ripped through a quiet Suffolk village without warning.
The twister destroyed a 250-year-old forge, wrecked a car, uprooted trees, blew down a chimney, ripped off tiles and tore off roofs from a house and outbuildings.
Power and telephone lines were also brought down as the 120mph wind swept across the outskirts of Great Livermere, near Bury St Edmunds.

Incredibly nobody was injured when the tornado struck just before 5pm on Monday, although several people had a lucky escape.
The wind blew up just seconds after village blacksmith Brian Hardman, 56, had been in his forge lighting up his fire to fashion horseshoes.
He said: 'I had just come back into my house over the road to make a cup of tea. I shut the door and then I heard this loud crashing noise. It sounded like a train going past.
'I looked out and saw a few tiles had flown off my roof. Then I looked across at the forge and saw it was in ruins. It was heartbreaking to see.
'I was very lucky because I was standing inside just a few moments earlier and I could easily have been caught up in it. :shock:
'The wind just seemed to come from nowhere. It only lasted about 20 seconds or so.
'Before it happened there was a bit of drizzle and it was a bit overcast - but there was nothing to suggest there was going to be a tornado.'

The wind brought down half of the timber-framed forge and most of its roof, wrecking an MG sports car that Mr Hardman had been renovating inside.
The father-of-two's Land Rover Discovery car which was parked next to the forge was written off when it was smashed by rubble and debris.
A 40ft cherry tree and a 30ft apple tree in Mr Hardman's garden were also brought crashing down.

Chartered building surveyor Tony Redman, 59, had a six foot tall chimney blown down at his 18th century home The Cottage which is opposite the forge.
Scores of bricks from the chimney smashed through his roof, littering a stairway of his house which was unoccupied at the time.
A slate roof on an extension to the house was also ripped off, along with the roof of a barn and the gable end of a brick and flint outbuilding in the garden.

Huge branches were ripped off eight oak trees in the meadow behind the house as the tornado made its way out of the village.
Mr Redman, a non-stipendiary priest, said: 'The wind came from a westerly direction and then crossed this end of the village before disappearing over the fields again.
'We are just very fortunate nobody was hurt - but my cat which was in the house at the time was left a bit traumatised.
'My family have lived here since 1810 and the buildings have stood here without any problem all that time.'

etc...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0xbjRP7nf
 
Rare ‘fire tornado’ filmed in Brazil
25 August 2010 Last updated at 13:44

A 'fire tornado' has been caught on camera in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba, caused by strong, dry winds that fanned wildfires.

A whirlwind of flames spiralling several metres high danced across fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road, before it disappeared.

The phenomenon followed weeks of drought which have sparked brush fires across the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11086299

Something I've not seen before...
 
'Twister' causes damage to Watton
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-11126311

Twister in Watton The tree uprooted by the "twister" narrowly missed taking down a power line

High winds described as a small "twister" hit a Norfolk town, causing minor damage to homes, power lines to swing violently and trees to fall.

The winds, which hit Watton on Sunday afternoon, uprooted an oak tree and residents reported damage to tiled roofs and school playgrounds.

Branches were thrown across roads but no major problems have been reported.

Weather experts said it was possible the damage had been caused by a funnel cloud or "twister".

Resident Stevie Willis said: "Tiles came off roofs and the local primary school's outside adventure play area received some damage.

"A few family back gardens were also hit.

"My sister and niece stood at the front door and watched it go through."

A spokesman for BBC forecaster Weatherquest said: "About that time, a line of thunderstorms came through from the North Sea, and Watton was in line with them.

"It is likely to be a funnel cloud or a twister would form and because there was damage on the ground it is likely to be the case."
 
New York battered by twin tornadoes

US weather experts say a freak storm with two tornadoes was to blame for a trail of destruction across New York City that left one person dead.

More than 1,000 trees were uprooted and power was cut to hundreds of homes when the storm struck on Thursday.

The woman who died was in a car hit by a falling tree and had just switched seats with her husband, who survived. :?

It was the ninth time New York City has been hit by a tornado since 1950, and the second this year, officials said.

The US National Weather Service said on Friday that the tornadoes had been part of a fast-moving storm, along with a fierce microburst with speeds up to 125mph (200 km/h).

The storm travelled from Staten Island, across New York harbour and then carved a 14-mile (22km) path of destruction from Brooklyn to the Bayside neighbourhood in Queens.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said many more trees were so badly damaged they would have to be felled.

The woman who died was named as Aline Levakis, 30, who had been sitting in a parked car in Queens with husband Billy Levakis.
The couple, from Pennsylvania, had just switched seats when the tree fell on them, said their former business partner, Peter Markos.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the incident as "tragic", adding that there had been other stories of lucky escapes from falling trees across the city.

Resident Steve Carlisle, 54, described how he saw a 25ft tree branch fly up the street and then start spinning in the air.
"It was like a poltergeist," he said.
"Then all the garbage cans went up in the air and this spinning tree hits one of them like it was a bat on a ball." 8)

New York City has suffered freak storms before. One in August last year toppled about 500 trees in Central Park, the New York Times reported.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11354269
 
Flaming tornado: Blaze at plastics factory captures rare fire phenomenon
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:00 AM on 2nd March 2011

Towering into the night sky amid the billowing smoke, this is the rare phenomenon known as a 'fire tornado'.
It was captured during a huge blaze at a plastic processing plant in Kistarcsa, a suburb of Hungarian capital Budapest, last night.

So far, no casualties have been reported in the blaze, which broke out at around 8pm. The cause of the fire is unknown.

...

The fire tornado, also known as a whirl, only appears under certain conditions and forms a vertical column of air, which can on occasion, be separate from other flames.
They most commonly form from wildfires and are usually around 10 to 50 metres tall, a few metres wide and last for a few minutes - however examples stretching over a kilometre high have been recorded.
The most deadly ever recorded was during the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake in Japan, when a huge example of the phenomenon killed 38,000 in 15 minutes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... menon.html
 
Deadly tornado hits Auckland

Two killed and 14 injured in New Zealand's largest city in the wake of tornado that cut a three-mile path across suburb

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 May 2011 07.38 BST

Two people have been killed and 14 injured after a tornado cut a three-mile path across a suburb of New Zealand's largest city Link to this video

A tornado has ripped across part of New Zealand's largest city, overturning cars and sending debris slicing through the air. Civil defence officials put the death toll at two, with at least 14 injured.

The swirling dark grey column of air and cloud cut a three-mile (5km) path across the Auckland suburb of Albany at mid-afternoon on Tuesday, tearing off roofs, flattening trees and tossing vehicles around, according to police and residents.

"There were kids in a car which turned upside down and they had to get help," said Hamish Blair, whose golf supplies store was in the hardest-hit area. "There's probably six or seven seriously damaged cars, and I saw cars flying off the ground about 30 metres [100ft] in the air."

"We've got our fingers crossed that injuries are limited and that there are no further fatalities," Auckland's mayor, Len Brown, told Radio New Zealand.

The tornado first touched down in Albany and then passed through neighbouring Birkenhead. Most of the serious damage was in Albany, where a shopping mall, a large hardware store and a supermarket were hit. Radio New Zealand reported that the roof of the Mega Centre mall in Albany collapsed.

Tornadoes are not uncommon in New Zealand, particularly on the country's North Island, where Auckland lies. But they tend to be smaller than those seen in the US midwest. Auckland generally gets one or two tornadoes a year, according to New Zealand's ministry of civil defence and emergency management.

New Zealand has been hit by several natural disasters in recent months, including an earthquake on 22 February that devastated the South Island city of Christchurch and killed at least 169 people.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ma ... s-auckland
 
Missouri tornado: Joplin storm kills dozens
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13497489

Click to play

A team of storm chasers filmed the tornado as it tore through Missouri

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At least 89 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a tornado tore through the city of Joplin in the US state of Missouri, officials have said.

Joplin official Mark Rohr said the storm cut a path six miles (10km) long. Homes and businesses were flattened and a damaged hospital had to be evacuated.

Power lines are down and telephone connections are largely cut off.

The Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, has declared a state of emergency and warned that more storms are on the way.

Cities in three other Midwestern states have also been badly affected. At least one person was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Last month, tornadoes and storms killed at least 350 people in Alabama and six other southern states.

'Nothing left'
Jeff Lehr, a reporter for the Joplin Globe newspaper, said he was upstairs in his home when the storm hit the city of about 50,000 at about 1730 (2230 GMT) on Sunday but was able to make his way to his basement.

Continue reading the main story

Start Quote

We will recover and come back stronger than we are today”

Mark Rohr
Joplin City Manager
"There was a loud huffing noise, my windows started popping. I had to get downstairs, glass was flying. I opened a closet and pulled myself into it," he told the Associated Press.

"Then you could hear everything go. It tore the roof off my house, everybody's house. I came outside and there was nothing left."

Another resident, Tom Rogers, said his house had been destroyed.

"It's just gone. We heard the tornado sirens for the second time. All of a sudden, everything came crashing down on us. We pulled our heads up and there was nothing. It was gone," he told the Joplin Globe.

Much of the city's south side is reported to have been levelled, with churches, schools, businesses and homes reduced to rubble. Power and telephone lines across the city were also downed, and many vehicles overturned.

Nearly 100 patients at the St John Regional Medical Center in Joplin were having to be evacuated from after the hospital took a direct hit.

A resident living 45 miles (70km) away said debris from the hospital had landed in his yard, including medical supplies and X-rays.


In many cases rescuers are using their bare hands to reach survivors
At a pre-dawn news conference on Monday outside the St John Regional Medical Center, Mr Rohr announced that the number of confirmed dead was 89.

He said the tornado had cut a path nearly six miles long and more than half a mile (800m) wide through the city centre, and that tornado sirens had given residents about a 20-minute warning.

Fire chief Mitch Randles said the tornado "cut the city in half" and estimated that 25 to 30% was damaged.

A door-to-door search of the damaged area will begin later on Monday morning, but progress will be slow because of the danger of downed power lines and gas leaks, which caused fires around the city overnight.

"We will recover and come back stronger than we are today," Mr Rohr said.

Earlier, the Red Cross opened a shelter at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin for victims, spokeswoman Joanne Muir told the BBC.

It had also sent an emergency response vehicle with some supplies such as blankets, cots, water and food to the area, she said.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13497489
 
Waterspout filmed by helicopter in New South Wales
30 May 2011 Last updated at 13:48

[video]

An impressive waterspout, spiralling up into a bank of clouds, has been filmed off the coast of New South Wales in Australia.
A camera crew for an Australian broadcaster, 7 News, caught the column of water on camera, estimating it to be 600m tall.

Waterspouts occur when a tornado forms over oceans, lakes, or rivers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13593871
 
Deadly tornadoes hit Massachusetts
At least four people have died in the storms, with Springfield bearing the brunt of the damage
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 June 2011 07.52 BST

Tornadoes have roared through Massachusetts, killing at least four people.
The storms caused extensive damage in Springfield, the state's third-largest city.
Authorities said two people died in West Springfield, one in Springfield and another in Brimfield. State police said 33 people were injured in Springfield, five of whom required surgery.

The state governor, Deval Patrick, said the path of damage from the first and more powerful of the two tornadoes extended from Westfield, just west of Springfield, to the community of Douglas. He said the second cut a path from West Springfield to Sturbridge in the central part of the state.
A state of emergency has been declared.

Bob Pashko of West Springfield said he was leaving his doctor's office when the storm started.
"The next thing you know the TV says a tornado hit the railroad bridge in West Springfield," said Pashko, 50. "It's the baddest I've seen."

The Rev Bob Marrone of the First Church of Monson said the storm cleared a view he had never seen before across the valley where the town sits.
"I can see the plywood of roofs, and see houses where most of the house is gone," he said. "The road that runs up in front of my house ... There's so many trees down, it's completely impassable."

The storm hit the Springfield area after a tornado watch was issued for much of the east coast, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

etc...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ju ... sachusetts

Is Tornado Alley getting bigger?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley
 
Eglinton farm workers 'escape tornado'

Ten people working at a farm in County Londonderry had a lucky escape after what they described as a tornado struck it on Wednesday afternoon.
It ripped the roof off the barn. A car was also destroyed when a wall collapsed on it.

Farmer Fergie Kelly, said the workers were trimming cows' feet in the barn near Eglinton, when they heard a bang.
"We thought there was a bomb that went off. We ran out of the shed.
"The cows all stampeded ... We saw a tornado going down through the field. The tin was hurled into the air, along with the roof trusses and blocks and a lot of other debris. It was quite a scary experience."

Mr Kelly said no-one was hurt but they were "totally scared" by their experience.
"The shed roof started to lift and all of a sudden the shed roof lifted off into the air," he said.
"The only good thing about today is everyone got out without being hurt."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13704497
 
Bognor's own tornado alley: freak twister hits street in coastal town AGAIN
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:27 PM on 8th July 2011

They say lightning never strikes twice but tornadoes seem to have a habit of coming back to one street in Bognor Regis.
Eleven years after the seaside town was struck by a freak mini tornado the exact same area of West Sussex was hit again by a twister.

But unlike the destructive tornado of 2000 the latest tornado was over within minutes and for one family it was an unexpected rather than terrifying visitor to their garden.
Onlooker Emma Brooks, 40, told how the twister lifted the heavy 15ft trampoline as if it were a 'frisbee' and dumped it in her next door neighbour's garden.
She said: 'I have never seen anything like it. We were all looking out of the window because the sky had gone so black.
'Then this white, misty cone-shaped tornado touched down in the garden. I quickly shut the back door and we all watched, transfixed, wondering what it was going to do next. It was pretty scary because it could have come towards the house but we couldn't stop watching.
'It got trapped in the children's play equipment and spun everything out to the edges of the garden.

'Then it seemed to change direction and sucked up the trampoline like it was a frisbee. It was spinning in the air, 15 or 20ft high for about 10 seconds seconds.
'Then it moved across the garden, knocked down the fence and dropped the trampoline next door before taking down a 40ft conifer tree which landed on a shed. It snapped it at the trunk. It must have been incredibly powerful.'

Her three children, Matthew, seven, Jack, four and Keira, 10 months, and husband Jack, a 28-year-old chef, were all at home.
She said: 'Little Jack was off school ill so he watched from his bedroom. The rest of us were downstairs. We were all open mouthed.
'It is difficult for two adults to lift that trampoline so it could easily have whisked a child up. Luckily, nobody was outside because the weather was so bad.
'You just don't expect to see that in your back garden, not in Bognor anyway. Last week they said Bognor was the sunniest place in Britain. This week we're at the centre of a freak tornado.'

Firefighters received a number of calls as the freak storm ripped tiles from rooftops on Linden Road, which was the worst hit by the tornado of 2000.
Station Commander Martin Funnell said: 'It has hit four streets, two worse than others.
'The weirdest thing was the trampoline, it was a pretty heavy duty piece of kit so it gives you an idea of how strong the tornado was that it could pick it up.
'We are up on an aerial ladder inspecting the damage and it is fairly extensive. Eight properties are fairly serious. We are removing loose tiles and putting sheeting over them as have more heavy rain on the way but some people may have to move out of their homes for a while.
'Luckily nobody was hurt but there are a few distressed residents.'

etc...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1RhCwq1Vi
 
Freak tornado rips roof off nursery in Lake District leaving terrified toddlers surrounded by the wreckage
By Emma Reynolds
Last updated at 5:33 PM on 18th October 2011

A freak tornado ripped off a nursery roof leaving frightened toddlers surrounded by wreckage.
The twister destroyed a shed on the street in Mirehouse, Cumbria, smashed windows of neighbouring houses and left rubble strewn across the playground of Tamalder Childcare.
Four panicked staff members managed to help the ten children in the building to escape after the whirlwind hit at 4.30pm yesterday.

'It looks like a bomb exploded,' said nursery owner Donna Duff. 'There is no roof on it whatsoever.
'The full roof has been taken off with bricks still attached. It was thrown on to the playground.
'It has just been lifted and thrown. The guys next door said they saw a twister.
'We had children and staff still inside the building but luckily it was 4.30pm and most of the children had gone home.

'The staff managed to get the children to safety. The children were fine but the staff were in tears last night looking at the damage. I'm so proud of the staff getting everybody out.
'We can rebuild the building but if anything had happened to the children or staff it would have been heartbreaking.'

Staff at Tony's Services & Repairs next door to the nursery also witnessed the chaos.
Apprentice mechanic Ryan Tegg said: 'It picked up everything in the yard, pebbles and stuff of the floor, it was just like a twister.
'As quickly as it came it had gone. Then we heard a massive bang. I thought it was one of our recovery trucks.
'Then a woman came running out of the nursery screaming saying the roof has come off and there are kids inside.'
The mechanics helped evacuate the children before fire crews from Whitehaven and Egremont arrived.

Emergency services used a thermal-imaging camera to ensure nobody was trapped in the nursery, which is likely to remain closed for the foreseeable future. At around the same time, the wind blew a flat-roof extension off a property in nearby Whitehaven.

Meanwhile, in nearby Barrow, four cars were almost completely crushed and a fifth damaged after a wall collapsed in the windy weather.
Bystanders looked on in disbelief as police, fire and vehicle recovery crews arrived at the scene opposite the former Alfred Barrow School.
Police cordoned off the area surrounding the cars as firefighters from Barrow station carried out a safety inspection at around 5.30pm yesterday evening.

Michael Martin, from Walney, Barrow, emerged to find his black BMW flattened.
He had been attending a parent and teachers' meeting inside the former Alfred Barrow School - now being used by Barrow Island Primary - when the freak weather struck.
'I was in the classroom when suddenly I heard a loud bang,' he said. 'I came out to reception and saw the wall had fallen down on top of my car.
'I don't want to repeat my first reaction as it wasn't pleasant.'

Owain Miln, owner of Daddy's Cafe in Barrow Market, got a phone call to say his catering van had also been a victim of the crush.
'I'm gutted, just absolutely gutted,' said Mr Miln. This van is my livelihood as I own a catering business.
'I come here and park it at 3am every day because that's when I start work.'

A spokesman for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said: 'As far as we are aware, no persons have been injured as a result of this incident.
'We have had a very busy period but everything died down after a while.'

The Met Office has not received reports of a twister, but it recorded gusts of 70mph in the area at about 5pm - on the border between severe gale and storm force.
Met office spokeswoman Helen Chivers said the conditions were right for a twister or tornado.
She said: 'There was a particularly active cold front moving across at that time. It is possible it was a tornado but it is impossible to know.'

-----------------
TWISTER COUNTRY
The UK has between 35 and 40 tornadoes a year - more than any other European country.
By some estimates, we have the most per square mile of anywhere in the world.

Many only last for a few minutes, but in 1950 a tornado swept across southern England that lasted for more than two-and-a-half hours and covered at least 66 miles.
---------------------

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1bDai9hrQ
 
vids at link.


Over water tornado reported off Bray
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... king9.html

A screen shot from footage of the over water tornado reported off the Wicklow coast this morning. Image: East Coast Kayaks

East Coast Kayaks

An over water tornado has been reported off the coast of Bray,Co Wicklow, this morning.

The weather phenomena, also known as a seaspout, occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud formation.

They do not suck up water and the funnel cloud is water droplets formed by condensation.

Seaspout are often associated with active weather fronts and can appear at during thunder, lightening or strong winds.
 
Vid at link

Tornado reported during storm in Oxfordshire
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ox ... e-17986143

The tornado was reported in several places in Oxfordshire. This picture was taken in South Leigh by Sam Kiff

Related Stories

Tornado reported during thunderstorm
'Tornado rips path' through homes
In pictures: Aftermath of 'tornadoes'

A tornado has been reported in parts of Oxfordshire during a storm which caused damage to trees and roof tiles.

It was spotted in several places, including Bicester, Eynsham, Kidlington and South Leigh, on Monday afternoon.

Large hailstones were also reported during the storm, which is thought to have started in Wiltshire and moved to Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

One forecaster said it was almost certainly a tornado, thought to have been caused by a special kind of storm.

Brendan Jones, from Meteogroup, said: "At the moment it's difficult to say exactly where the tornado was because while the parent thunderstorm travelled all the way across the south Midlands, it wasn't necessarily producing a tornado all the time.


A tree was felled in Kidlington by the storm
"There has been more than one report of a tornado beneath this storm. There has also been some quite big hailstones."

He said it was likely the storm was a "supercell" thunderstorm, when the air spins or rotates, which is not often seen in the UK.

Eyewitness Dave Ewart, from Kidlington, said: "I was at home at around 16:40 when I noticed heavy dark clouds forming, then hail then - very suddenly - extremely high winds.

'Freak hailstorm'
"I saw my car bouncing up and down on its suspension - which is very unusual. And then we spotted spinning clouds."

Richard Glazer, 40, drove through it with his wife and son on the A34 near Kidlington.

He said: "It was very wet, we were just driving on the A34 and looked up and realised one part of the sky was moving in one direction and another in the opposite direction.


The twisting clouds were recorded over Kidlington by resident Dave Ewart
"I thought, 'that looks like a tornado'. We pretty much drove through it, we were right underneath it.

"As we drove into it the trees were blowing left to right and as we got through it they were blowing the other way."

Jo Cotterill, from Kidlington, said: "At about 4pm this afternoon we had a freak hailstorm, lasting about two minutes, along with massive gusts of wind that damaged streetlights, roof tiles and trees."
 
Twister in the Rialto?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...tornado-italy_n_1590061.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Venice Whirlwind Video: Italy Tornado-Like Storm Slams Sant'Erasmo, Cavallino, Jesolo And Eraclea

Reuters | Posted: June/12/2012

Link to Video
http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/06/12/tornado-like-whirlwind-sweeps-across-ven?videoId=235944865

ROME, June 12 (Reuters) - A whirlwind ploughed through islands and villages in the lagoon surrounding Venice on Tuesday, tearing roofs off homes and uprooting trees but leaving the city's historic centre unscathed, Italy's civil protection agency said.

Pictures and amateur videos of the late-morning storm were quickly posted on Italian Web sites. They showed a thick, dark column rising behind the city's belltowers and cupolas, which were not damaged.

The island of Sant'Erasmo, located near the mouth of the channel that leads from the lagoon to the Adriatic sea, was the hardest hit, firefighters reported.

Many of Sant'Erasmo's homes were left without roofs, and firefighters laid tarps to keep rain out of the damaged homes. Numerous trees were toppled and farmland was damaged in the wind and rain.

Only one minor injury was reported.

The twister then moved northeast, causing damage in the towns of Cavallino, Jesolo and Eraclea, a civil protection spokeswoman said.

In Italy, thin water spouts are often spotted snaking over the sea, and whirlwinds are sometimes seen over land, but large, damaging tornadoes like those associated with the United States are rare. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Roger Atwood)
 
1,000m tornado recorded moving across mountain
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 53721.html
LINDA McGRORY

Tue, Jun 12, 2012

A tornado measuring more than 1,000m in height was recorded yesterday in Co Donegal.

Lecturer John O’Raw and his daughter Niamh were in their garden at Umricam near Buncrana when they spotted the tornado travelling over Sliabh Sneacht mountain at 11.30am.

“The twister was about two kilometres away from us and it was heading south,” Mr O’Raw said. “Sliabh Sneacht is over 600m in height, so the tornado must have been going up to over 1,000m.”

Mr O’Raw, who teaches computer science at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, was among a party who videoed orca whales off the coast of Co Donegal last week.

He is also a volunteer with the Seismology in Schools project that records earthquakes, including a sizeable one off Co Mayo last week.

“We’ve had a pretty exciting time of late. We had a transit of Venus on the same day as we got the footage of the killer whales.

“We then had an earthquake off Mayo; there was another tornado recorded near Inch island last week, and now this tornado. It is a very interesting time for local scientists.”

Watch a video at: youtu.be/hNWm0Ni_9HY
 
Re: Funnel Clouds

Haarp said:
I'll try to work out how to upload my own photo in a mo !
Haarp :)
Upload it to Photobucket (or similar) then give the link to it in your post here.

(Hint: crop or resize your pic to 600 pix wide to avoid distorting the thread.)
 
Tornadoes cause chaos in Poland
15 July 2012 Last updated at 12:45

[video]

One person died and five were wounded as heavy storms swept through the north-western part of Poland on Saturday evening.

Two tornadoes hit counties in Kujawy-Pomorze and Wielkopolska provinces.

More than 100 houses were destroyed and about 400 hectares of trees were felled in Bory Tucholskie national park.

Power lines were also brought down leaving homes cut off and train services disrupted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18846641

I don't think I've ever heard of Tornadoes in Poland before.
 
Haarp said:
As promised, here is my Avebury funnel cloud picture...

http://s1170.photobucket.com/albums/r53 ... lcloud.jpg
There's no need to post the link to the complete Photobucket page. To the right of your pic there is a panel called Links. Copy the one next to IMG code (it probably copies automatically when you click on it) and paste that in your post. Then the image will display there without your readers having to click anything! 8)

(Although, as I said earlier, you may want to crop or resize the pic before uploading it. This can be done in Photobucket (use EDIT) if you don't have another picture editor.)
 
Thanks Rynner,
Did you like the cloud though?

:)
 
Haarp said:
Thanks Rynner,
Did you like the cloud though?
Yes. But I'd crop that pic to emphasise the funnel. You can afford to lose a bit of scenery. (I often keep two or even more versions of a photo I like - for example, a crop of important detail at near original size, plus a reduced size version of the complete photo for context.)
 
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