'Tornado' witnessed as storm hit Cornwall with torrential rain and gales
Drivers are being warned to watch out for debris and flood roads in the wake of Aurore
Last updated 21st Oct 2021
Weather groups and eye-witnesses have reported seeing a tornado as the back end of Storm Aurore battered Cornwall.
It was felt by locals from Portreath to Penryn after a night of gales and torrential rain across the Duchy.
The weather system was first reported by a member of Kernow Weather Team at around 6pm on Wednesday 20th October.
They posted: "We have experienced straight-line winds, possible tornado Portreath way this evening. Our Dave is has witnessed this. There are branches everywhere ripped off trees and conditions are treacherous, with flooding and torrential downpours".
Residents were quick to respond, including Jay who commented: "A twister came across the harbourfront in St Ives, absolutely crazy, couldn't believe what I was seeing".
While Kerrie Hooper shared these photos of her trampoline being whipped up in Penryn...
Seconds later, Kerrie said it took out a nearby lamppost...
She commented: "Felt like a tornado in Penryn. One minute my kids were watching the leaves blowing from the trees, the next they freaked out and the trampoline took of, taking out a lamppost".
The tornado reported in Cornwall was not the first to be seen on Wednesday.
An earlier one left a trail of destruction in the Cheshire town of Widnes, with debris strewn across the street.
What causes a tornado and are they rare in the UK?
The Met Office says that while we might associate tornados with the American Midwest, we do experience them here in the UK.
In a blog on its website, the Met Office says tornadoes form when the weather is ‘unstable’ and showery.
They are narrow, spinning columns of air that reach the ground from cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) clouds.
As they develop we often see funnel shaped clouds extending from the base of the cloud and it is only when these funnel clouds touch the ground that we get a tornado.
If the funnel cloud touches down at sea we get a waterspout.
The Met Office blog post goes on to say: "It is claimed that the UK gets more tornadoes per square kilometre than the USA, but not more tornadoes in total.
"On average, around 30 tornadoes are reported each year in the UK, although these are generally much weaker than their American counterparts.
"However, there have been a number of notable exceptions – such as the Birmingham tornado on July 28th 2005 which left a significant trail of damage".
Did you witness a tornado in Cornwall?
You can send your comments, photos and videos to CornwallNews@bauermedia.co.uk