Tornado blows down trees as it sweeps through Hampshire, with storm warnings across southern England and Wales

21 September 2024, 07:34

A tornado has swept through Hampshire, with trees blown over, as storm warnings come into force across much of southern England and Wales for the weekend.

Doorbell video and images shared online showed a tree being knocked down, and damage to properties in the town of Aldershot.

The tornado and storm research organisation said that it tracked the tornado moving through the area for just over a mile on Friday at around midday.

No one was thought to be hurt, despite the property damage. Rushmoor Council, the local authority, said that locals should call the emergency services if they saw any trees they thought were dangerous.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said: "Firefighters are part of a joint response at an incident in Aldershot after a number of properties and trees were damaged in strong winds.

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"Crews from Rushmoor and Surrey Fire and Rescue Services were first called shortly after midday and are working closely with partner agencies to make the scene safe."

It comes as storms gather across much of the country over the weekend, bringing to an end a spell of warm weather at the end of summer.

A weather warning for thunderstorms and heavy showers is in force across much of southern England and Wales.

The Met Office said people should expect damage to buildings as a result of lightning strikes, disruption to public transport and flooding within the affected areas.

The yellow warning, which covers all of Wales and southwest England, the Midlands and parts of southeast and northern England, came into effect at 1am and lasts until midnight on Sunday.

Another weather warning for rain will come into force on Sunday for Wales and central south-west England.

Affected areas could see between 50mm and 70mm of rainfall over a few hours, accompanied by hail and frequent lightning.

The stormy weather follows a warm, dry spell as temperatures reached 25C in Inverness on Wednesday while southeast England saw the same high on Thursday, according to the forecaster.

The Met Office's chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said: "The warnings cover the areas of the country most at risk of seeing thunderstorms but not everyone within a warning area will experience a thunderstorm. For many much of the time it will remain dry."

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said the wet weather is expected to continue into next week, with the forecaster weighing issuing another warning for Monday.

"The area of persistent and at times heavy rain that we are expecting to have developed by the end of Sunday will most likely continue for some parts of southern UK through at least the first part of Monday, before starting to clear eastwards," he said.

"By this time, however, confidence falls sharply in terms of both its exact location and rainfall amounts."