Tornado alert issued as storm hits with possible devastating impact
A tornado alert has been issued for Wales and much of England. With storm Henk swooping in the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation has said that there is a high risk of serious damaging wind events striking.
The areas concerned are Wales, part of Northern England, the Midlands including Birmingham and Coventry, East Anglia, South East and South West England and the Channel Islands.
This follows a supercell thunderstorm was thought to have resulted in a tornado that damaged homes in Greater Manchester on Wednesday. Around 100 properties were damaged by what police called a “localised tornado” in Stalybridge, Tameside and in the badly-hit village of Carrbrook.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation said in a forecast[1]: “Low-level flow into the front will likely encourage a narrow line of intense rain, and the shear along the front may allow misocyclones to develop. These will assist in bringing strong wind gusts in places, perhaps to 60-70mph. There will also be the risk of isolated tornadoes.
“The tornado risk, although low, may take on a bi-modal distribution - with one area of slightly higher risk being in the discussion area across the RoI on Saturday morning, and the second being across parts of Cent S England, SE England, the SE Midlands, and E Anglia on Saturday night. This latter area will be monitored on Saturday for a possible tornado watch.”
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation has given a widespread warning for possible tornados due to unusually stormy weather conditions (Image: Tornado and Storm Research Organisation)
The group is predicting wind gusts to 60-70mph, occasional CG (forked) lightning, hail and isolated tornadoes in the above area until 6am Sunday.
Posting a picture of the weather front on X, former Environment Agency expert Dave Throup said: "As forecast, signs of strong line convection from mid Wales to the Isles of Scilly now along the trailing weather front. Likely to increase in intensity as the front drifts slowly east this afternoon. Torrential rain, lightning, squally winds & possible tornadoes."
Strong gusts are on the way as parts of the UK brace for snowy weather[2] and travel disruption during the last weekend of the year. Eurostar and Southeastern trains were cancelled on Saturday due to flooding in tunnels near Ebbsfleet International.
Windy conditions will sweep across the UK on Saturday, according to the Met Office, and meteorologist Alex Burkill said northern areas of Scotland are likely to see “significant snow”, with possibly 10 to 20cm on the highest ground.
A yellow weather warning for rain and snow has been issued until midnight for much of Scotland on Saturday, with up to 25mm of rain forecast at lower levels.
A period of sleet and snow, turning to rain, may lead to some flooding and travel disruption. The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for rain across parts of Northern Ireland, running through to Saturday at 11am, with 15 to 25mm of rain falling in a few hours.
In a forecast video, Mr Burkill said “a touch of frost is likely” overnight into Saturday and there is a deep area of low pressure waiting out in the Atlantic that is going to sweep its way across the UK this weekend. He said: “Towards the far east of Scotland, particularly Shetland, it is going to be a windy picture with frequent showers.
“As that rain hits the cold air across Scotland, I am expecting some significant snow, particularly over higher ground we could see in excess of 10cm of snow lying and, even to lower levels, some slushy snow is possible. This could cause some problems particularly on the roads. Elsewhere it is the rain and the strong winds we need to watch out for.
“Heavy rain across parts of Wales and strong gales likely around southern, south-western coastal parts in particular – so a pretty unsettled day.”
References
- ^ said in a forecast (www.torro.org.uk)
- ^ weather (www.bristolpost.co.uk)