'tornado' In The Reading Area

[Stargazer]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/8385038.stm

It's still not certain whether this was really a tornado, but there was significant localised structural damage. Anyone know any more about this?

[Joneseye]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/8385038.stm

It's still not certain whether this was really a tornado, but there was significant localised structural damage. Anyone know any more about this?

I was woken about half an hour earlier by heavy rain and strong winds.. Why oh why is there this insistence on the phrase mini tornado. sheesh!

[Coast]

It's only been reported by the BBC in that article as far as I can see this morning, Ian Fergusson has commented on the funnel cloud that was sited at this time, here:

netweather.tv/convective-outlook

[maidstone weather]

It's only been reported by the BBC in that article as far as I can see this morning, Ian Fergusson has commented on the funnel cloud that was sited at this time, here:

netweather.tv/convective-outlook

From what I can see Coast, they are two separate incidents?

The 'tornado' occurred during the early hours on Saturday, whilst the reported funnel came from yesterday.

[Coast]

From what I can see Coast, they are two separate incidents?

The 'tornado' occurred during the early hours on Saturday, whilst the reported funnel came from yesterday.

Hmmm, curious. I'm sure they must be one and the same incident and reporting/interpretation has made it look like they are separate. UKWW only have two posts on it, so early days on this one maybe?

EDIT Times online: www.timesonline.co.uk

In Berkshire a mini tornado ripped off roof tiles and blew down walls in Caversham, Reading. Ranjini Suri, a housewife, said that she woke up in the early hours of Saturday to hear a “tremendous whoosing” sound.

She said: “I thought the roof had blown off. Our wooden fence was flattened

The Sun: www.thesun.co.uk

One house lost part of its roof and our fence was flattened.

"We were luck it happened at night because an 8ft brick wall beside a children's playground was blown down too."

Google Maps

[Coast]

Fierce winds destroyed a wall at the back of St Anne's Primary School on Saturday night – and bad weather is set to continue. The brick-built wall stood between the school's playing fields and the playground on Westfield Road Recreation Ground. Elsewhere in Caversham fences were knocked over as gales gripped the area.

Although the Met Office could not confirm a mini tornado took place, a forecaster said conditions for a freak squall were ideal. Met forecaster Tony Waters reviewed weather charts for Saturday night and said there was some very “active weather”.

“We have had very active weather fronts, squally fronts and winds over the weekend. There were sharp changes of wind and this would allow little tornadoes to happen.”

www.getreading.co.uk

[Harry]

Perhaps someone can email that engineer chap from the states, Tim Marshall (iirc), who is an expert at identifying damage, in particular tornadoes.

IIRC, he comes over to the UK whenever there is a funnel of note, i.e the Birmingham tornado of 2005 and the London tornado of 2007 (or 2006, my memory at the moment, lol)

[coldfingers]

Almost impossible to say if it was a tornado or just extremely squally winds in my view. Both could cause that sort of damage. My money would be on very strong squally winds because the damage was in such a small area, however a tornado touching down briefly could also do limited damage like that. Living on the coast for almost 45 years I have often seen such damage, and an 8ft wall is the first thing that would go in a strong squall. In my opinion it should be impossible to build such a high wall next to a children's playground. Wouldn't be allowed here on the coast because of the danger of being blown down, unless it had frequent strengthening buttresses which that wall appeared not to have.

So in my view it could be but most likely not a tornado.

Edited November 30, 2009 by coldfingers