Tornado rips up 100 houses in Greater Manchester as eyewitnesses describe horror at 'supercell' storm

28 December 2023, 12:43 | Updated: 28 December 2023, 13:07

A clean up operation has begun after a tornado struck parts of Greater Manchester, ripping holes into buildings and forcing people to leave their homes.

About 100 houses in Stalybridge were hit overnight, after a day when Storm Gerrit battered Britain, with some buildings left exposed after its sides and roofs were ripped out.

Those who had to leave their homes were told not to come back until structural engineers have assessed the damage. Locals said it was lucky nobody was killed.

Debris was strewn across the road after a "supercell" storm - which was later followed by another such weather system that crossed across Lancashire, bringing heavy rain, hail and lightning with it over Thursday.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a major incident was declared because of the "severity of the damage caused and potential risk to public safety".

That was downgraded by midday Thursday as a clean-up operation got under way, with council workers cleaning the damage and removing fallen trees.

Nobody was injured in the tornado but images showed windows blown out, bricks ripped out and fences trashed.

GMP's Chief Superintendent Mark Dexter said on Thursday morning: "This incident has undoubtedly affected numerous people in the Stalybridge area with many residents displaced from their properties during the night.

"Our highest priority is keeping people safe which is why we are advising those who have been displaced not to return or enter their properties which have significant damage until they have been assessed by structural engineers.

"I would also like to urge members of the public to avoid the area where possible and take extra care when travelling in vehicles on the roads in Stalybridge and the surrounding areas, due to debris in the road.

"This has understandably caused some disruption and, though we are not yet in a position to confirm when the area will return to normal, further updates will be communicated when we have them.

"I would like to use this opportunity to thank the community for their cooperation and patience."

Read more: Fury as rail services axed amid widespread Storm Gerrit Christmas travel chaos as thousands lose power

Resident Alison Atkinson told BBC Radio Manchester: "There's trees down everywhere, the roads are closed, trying to get up here, you walk further up the road, there's another tree that's gone into a house.

"There's two guys up there trying to clear all the trees up now. The lane's completely blocked off. The pavements are all ripped up. Never seen anything like this, really haven't."

Andy Turner, another resident, told MailOnline: "At 11.30pm last night, there was - all I can describe - is a hurricane came through. It lasted for about 15 seconds. Cars were parked outside the house.

"My wife's car is a write off, my car's took a bit of the brunt of the tree. It's just lucky that nobody was hurt. It was pure carnage."

Richard Harrison told the Manchester Evening News: "It was just lucky no one was killed... It was a good job no one was walking down the street."

Andy Wareham saw his Tesla windscreen get smashed.

He said: "Things started flying around, roof tiles knocking off. There was about 30 seconds to a minute of chaos and then it calmed down and straight away I was like, 'it must have been a tornado'."

The Met Office, which issued a raft of rain and wind warnings for Storm Gerrit on Wednesday, said Greater Manchester was hit by a "supercell thunderstorm" that caused damage.

"We know from our Dopplar radar that it had a strong rotating updraft. Whilst we don't yet have surface data to confirm, the presence of these features suggests a tornado at the surface was likely," it added.

On Thursday, it said the weather in the region was not letting up.

"A supercell thunderstorm is currently moving east across Morecambe Bay, Lancashire," the Met Office said on X.

"In addition to heavy rain and some hail, frequent lightning and strong and gusty winds may affect parts of #Lancashire in the next hour or so."

Caution: Very strong language

It come after roads, railways, air travel and football matches were all disrupted by Storm Gerrit across the UK, while authorities warned that power outages could continue for 48 hours.

Disruption continued on Thursday, with a falling tree which hit overhead wires between Rugby and Lichfield Trent Valley blocking some lines, Avanti West Coast said.

Journey times from London Euston to the North West were set to be extended as trains are diverted.

And 200 flood alerts and warnings were in place, with the vast majority of these - 157 - spread mostly across the South West, West Midlands and northern England.

There were 30 alerts and warnings in Scotland and 34 in Wales.

On Wednesday, the Met Office issued six yellow weather warnings for wind, rain and snow in southern England, Wales, northern England and large parts of Scotland. Gusts reached 70mph in some places.

The storm also led to power cuts, Scotland Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said.

By Wednesday night supplies had been restored to more than 30,000 properties, with more than 9,000 still cut off. Most of the issues were concentrated in northern Scotland.

The company warned some could face 48 hours without power.

"The widespread extent of the damage, the ongoing adverse weather conditions, and the challenges accessing faults due to fallen trees, flooding and road closures, together mean that full network restoration will take time," a spokesperson for SSEN said on Wednesday.

"Some customers in rural areas may be off supply for up to 48 hours."