A spate of tornadoes have caused serious damage to homes across Britain.
One tornado struck Nuneaton in the West Midlands, causing damage to 35 homes.
The tornado hit the area at 6.20am.
A second mini tornado is reported to have hit homes in Farnborough, Hants, a third struck Luton and a fourth slammed into streets in Northampton.
Other reports are emerging of other extreme wind events in the early hours of this morning.
Police said at least 10 houses had roofs ripped off in Farnborough and the fire brigade say 20 properties have been affected
Bus shelters uprooted and trees have been flattened, it is reported.

__________________

LONDON (Reuters) - Several tornadoes hit central England on Monday, tearing roof tiles down and ripping branches from trees, weather forecasters said.
One eyewitness described the scene in Nuneaton, in the west Midlands, as "absolute bedlam" and said the roofs had been ripped off a row of around 10 to 15 houses.
"It only lasted a couple of minutes," he told Sky News. "It's devastating."
A spokeswoman for the Met office said she had had reports of at least four tornadoes in central England, including in Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and the west Midlands. There were no reports of any injuries.
"When you have winds that are gusting up to 50 miles an hour or so -- which is what we have -- you can expect there to be quite a lot of damage with branches and tiles being blown off, fence panels coming down and people might even find windows being blow in," she told Reuters.
Tornadoes are not unusual in Britain, but rarely have the devastating power of those in, say, the United States.
Last December, a tornado ripped roofs off homes and tore down walls in a residential area of northwest London, injuring six people and damaging around 100 houses.

__________________

A series of mini-tornadoes have struck communities across England, witnesses have said.

Residents reported that heavy gusts of wind have uprooted trees and caused damage to homes and vehicles.
The Met Office confirmed that a mini-tornado hit Northampton, where an empty school bus was damaged by falling branches. Similar conditions were reported in Derby, Luton, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and the West Midlands

__________________

Eyewitnesses said they believe a tornado hit part of Luton, in Bedfordshire, on Monday morning. Residents living in Mallard Gardens said they watched as it ripped through their back gardens. Ruth Spaull said: "It has taken tiles off roofs.
"We've got a 10ft trampoline - it took it 15ft up in the air and dumped in it a car park across the road," she added.
Tornadoes struck elsewhere in Britain, with reports of damage in Hampshire, the West Midlands and Northampton.
BBC NEWS | England | Beds/Bucks/Herts | Tornado rips through town gardens

__________________

High winds have brought down trees in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire causing a number of travel problems. Some routes in the Cotswolds, including in Bourton-on-the-Water, Toddington and Northleach, are partially blocked.
In Wiltshire, fallen power lines have put traffic lights out of action on the A350 near Chippenham.
Train services between Stroud and Swindon and between Warminster and Bristol Temple Meads were delayed by fallen trees on the tracks.


BBC NEWS | England | High winds cause travel problems

__________________

What caused the Tornados
Sky News Video - Sky News' Jo Wheeler Saw Tornadoes Coming

Tornadoes Rip Across Britain

Updated: 10:49, Monday September 24, 2007
A series of tornadoes have ripped across Britain, causing serious damage to homes.

Tornado Hits The West Midlands |Sky News|UK News

Google Map of where tornados reported
Google Maps

__________________

Tornadoes have caused widespread damage to homes and businesses across the UK as the country experiences a spate of freak weather.
Tornadoes struck Hampshire, the West Midlands, Bedfordshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.
In the West Midlands, around 35 homes are said to have been damaged when a tornado struck Nuneaton just after 6am and lasted several minutes.
Mallard Avenue is said to be one of the worst affected streets in the town, with cars damaged as roof tiles were blown off.
In Luton, Beds, a tornado struck at around 7.30am, ripping through gardens and tearing tiles off roofs.
And in Farnborough, Hants, 20 homes were hit, with a roof torn off a garage and trees uprooted, the fire service said. Other reports said bus shelters had been uprooted.
A spokesman for the Met Office said weather conditions conducive to tornadoes are travelling across the country.
Heavy winds and torrential downpours have led to a miserable morning for commuters with services cancelled or badly delayed on a number of lines as train companies struggled to cope.
One of the worst-hit lines was First Capital Connect where some trains were cancelled and others delayed because of overhead wire problems in the St Albans area in Hertfordshire.
Signalling problems at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, also led to delays to services between Letchworth Garden City and Hitchin.
Overhead wire problems led to a suspension of services between Grays and Upminster in Essex on the London to Tilbury and Southend line c2c.
Both SWT and Southeastern reported delays to services due to slippery rails, while SWT confirmed that it would be introducing a revised timetable from October 1 to include longer journey times due to autumn track conditions.
Virgin Trains, Hull Trains and East Coast main line operator GNER were also hit by delays between Doncaster and York because of a problem with a river bridge.

__________________

Path of destruction as tornadoes hit UK

Tornadoes have caused widespread damage to homes and businesses across the UK as the country experiences a spate of freak weather.



http://www.itv.com/News/Articles/Tor...-Nuneaton.html

__________________

Tornadoes have caused widespread damage to homes and businesses across the UK as the country experiences a spate of freak weather.

They struck Hampshire, the West Midlands, Bedfordshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire.
In the West Midlands, around 35 homes are said to have been damaged when one hit Nuneaton just after 6am and lasted several minutes.
Mallard Avenue is said to be one of the worst affected streets in the town, with cars damaged as roof tiles were blown off.
Police sealed it off as fire crews attended the scene, working on the roofs of two houses which were among several properties damaged.
Meanwhile, a tree came down near the Bucksford pub in Bucks Hill while in Trafford Drive, around 20 homes were damaged, a Warwickshire Police spokeswoman said.
And in Farnborough, Hants, 20 homes were hit, with a roof torn off a garage and trees uprooted, the fire service said. Other reports said bus shelters had been uprooted.
A spokesman for Hampshire Fire Service said it hit homes on Rother Road, Cove. "There are no reports of any injuries. We have three fire crews up there assessing damage," he said.
In Luton, Beds, a tornado ripped through gardens and tore tiles off roofs.
Terrence Meaden, deputy head of tornado research group Torro, said Luton was hit at 6.45am. He said: "I have spoken with a witness who saw the tornado funnel at ground level going through her garden."
Dr Meaden said separate reports of strong winds causing a "horrendous" noise that blew down trees and lifted roof tiles in Nottingham at about 6.30am "sounded like a tornado".
He said the weather system that caused the tornadoes was over Exeter, Devon, at 4am and travelled eastwards, passing Nuneaton and Luton before going out into the North Sea.
A spokeswoman for the Met Office said weather conditions conducive to tornadoes are travelling across the country.
She said: "The weather conditions at the time were conducive to tornados. The weather system that we are going through at the moment - very windy with heavy rain - is travelling across the country.
"Although the tornado itself wouldn't be travelling across, the conditions that give rise to the tornado are."
According to Torro, on average, 33 tornadoes are reported annually in the UK, although the figure can fluctuate dramatically from year to year.
Heavy winds and torrential downpours have led to a miserable morning for commuters with services cancelled or badly delayed on a number of lines as train companies struggled to cope.
One of the worst-hit lines was First Capital Connect where some trains were cancelled and others delayed because of overhead wire problems in the St Albans area in Hertfordshire.
Signalling problems at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, also led to delays to services between Letchworth Garden City and Hitchin.
Overhead wire problems led to a suspension of services between Grays and Upminster in Essex on the London to Tilbury and Southend line c2c.
Both SWT and Southeastern reported delays to services due to slippery rails, while SWT confirmed that it would be introducing a revised timetable from October 1 to include longer journey times due to autumn track conditions.
Virgin Trains, Hull Trains and East Coast main line operator GNER were also hit by delays between Doncaster and York because of a problem with a river bridge.



Geoff.

Yahoo! UK & Ireland

I know its busy atm, but please can we credit the sites folks

__________________