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Tornadoes touch down in Goucestershire
• July storms bring tornadoes to the West country
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By
The Minx, contributing editor
Thursday,
19 July, 2007
Sky News reported on 17 July 2007 that England was on tornado alert! Apparently the weather conditions were exactly what is needed for the creation of tornadoes and the broadcast said that the west of England should be particularly watchful throughout today!
On Tuesday 17th July 2007 at 11.15am, a twister struck Melkirt Limited a mushroom farm in Tibberton which is a village in the Forest of Dean.
The tornado's spout lifted upwards a half-tonne skip and carried it more than 300 yards after it had been sucked up through the roof of the farm building and cast aside into a field. Several trees were up-rooted and farm building destroyed.
It was reported by the local Press that the farmer Mr. Dennis Nutting had stated that they had been lucky, as had the tornado been another 10 feet in the other direction it was likely that employees working close by would have been injured.
A part time worker Mr. Kenneth Browne, 67, stated that he could not believe his eyes when he saw the tornado, the sky had grown darker and darker and the wind grew louder and louder it had sounded like an express train going through the farm and the fact it had only lasted about 20 seconds, it had left a phenomenal amount of debris.
It was also reported that the local Tibberton Primary School had lost its electricity supply due to the effects of the severe weather.
On Monday 2nd July 2007 at 11.30am a tornado touched down in the town of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, causing severe damage and havoc as reported by the local media. The twister lifted roofs, uprooted trees and smashed fencing to the ground.
It touched down in the middle of Northway and tore up Hardwick Bank Road, Sinderberry Drive and then on to Bowler Road. Over a quarter mile in radius was the area of destruction to property it disappeared over the fields towards Aston-on-Carrant leaving a trail of devastation and terror in its wake.
Witnesses stated that there was a torrent of very heavy rain followed by unnatural calm. Then leaves began to spiral, blossom and debris from the trees started to charge at the building. The blossom was hitting the windows so hard that it sounded like hail stones.
The tornado was so powerful that it hurled a gazebo 200ft into the air as if it was made of paper, it also ripped a conservatory from its base and rained bits of it over a large area. Roof tiles became dangerious missiles and were strewn over gardens in piles, resembling a demolition site.
Doors which were locked and bolted on buildings were flung open suddenly with terrifying impact resembling events as one would see in a horror movie! Some witnesses described the noise like a plane about to crash to the ground, so loud it was disorientating.
A spokesman for the Met Office said: "We've had quite a few reports of tornados, not just in Gloucestershire, but around the country over the last couple of weeks. The weather patterns we've seen recently are conducive to tornados. They aren't freak weather events".
The Naked Reader 2007
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