ShadesWolf
07-28-2005, 19:03
19mm of rain hit Birmingham in an hour today. The Tornado got up to 110 mph and 19 people got injured, 3 seriously. According to the 7 oclock BBC midlands news.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41353000/jpg/_41353681_tornadofootage203.jpg
Twelve people have been injured - three of them seriously - as a tornado ripped through the streets of Birmingham.
The sudden storm damaged buildings, uprooted trees and trapped people in their homes. The Met Office estimates the wind speed may have reached 130mph.
One sq km of damage was caused in Kings Heath, with "hundreds" of properties affected, council officials said.
Emergency services are using dogs and specialist equipment to see if anyone has been trapped in damaged buildings.
West Midlands Fire Service said the areas affected included Kings Heath, Moseley, Quinton, Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook.
The Met Office explained tornadoes were especially rare in built-up areas and that this was the worst seen for years.
Caroline Ward, from the Jon Carrie Nursery in Moseley, said the tornado ripped out fences and toys were whipped into the air.
"Luckily we got the children all inside but they were very frightened," she told BBC News.
Julia Banner, who works in a care home in Moseley, said: "All of a sudden it got dark, the front door blew open and all the notices blew off the notice board.
"The kitchen window was open and all the crockery smashed to the floor.
"It all happened in just a couple of minutes. There is a tree through a car and trees on houses - it looks like something from a film set."
A Met Office spokesperson said: "From the reports we have heard we would estimate that this is a tornado with a rating of T3-T4, that would mean it had wind speeds of between 93-114 mph for T3 and 114-130 for T4.
"A typical description would be that motorcars were lifted and destroyed, roofs removed from buildings and weak buildings destroyed.
"We have an average of 33 reports of tornadoes in the UK each year but these are especially rare in built-up areas and there has not been one of this strength in many years.
"City centres are not the natural habitat of a tornado; the tall buildings would normally stop their formation."
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41229000/jpg/_41229031_tornado1.jpg
Coventry was hit by a tornado during storms on Friday.
The tornado, which lasted about two minutes, was spotted over the Walsgrave and Stoke areas of the city but there have been no reports of damage.
Images of it were filmed by BBC Midlands Today viewer Colin Paterson, who lives in Parkside.
The Birmingham Met Office said that when thunderstorms are severe enough there are sometimes mini tornadoes associated with them.
Forecaster Pete Chapman said: "Usually it begins as a funnel cloud, snaking across the sky and sometimes this funnel cloud reaches the ground, causing a mini tornado.
"They're very localised but can cause severe local damage.
"They happen in several places in the Midlands in most years so they're not that uncommon."
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41353000/jpg/_41353681_tornadofootage203.jpg
Twelve people have been injured - three of them seriously - as a tornado ripped through the streets of Birmingham.
The sudden storm damaged buildings, uprooted trees and trapped people in their homes. The Met Office estimates the wind speed may have reached 130mph.
One sq km of damage was caused in Kings Heath, with "hundreds" of properties affected, council officials said.
Emergency services are using dogs and specialist equipment to see if anyone has been trapped in damaged buildings.
West Midlands Fire Service said the areas affected included Kings Heath, Moseley, Quinton, Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook.
The Met Office explained tornadoes were especially rare in built-up areas and that this was the worst seen for years.
Caroline Ward, from the Jon Carrie Nursery in Moseley, said the tornado ripped out fences and toys were whipped into the air.
"Luckily we got the children all inside but they were very frightened," she told BBC News.
Julia Banner, who works in a care home in Moseley, said: "All of a sudden it got dark, the front door blew open and all the notices blew off the notice board.
"The kitchen window was open and all the crockery smashed to the floor.
"It all happened in just a couple of minutes. There is a tree through a car and trees on houses - it looks like something from a film set."
A Met Office spokesperson said: "From the reports we have heard we would estimate that this is a tornado with a rating of T3-T4, that would mean it had wind speeds of between 93-114 mph for T3 and 114-130 for T4.
"A typical description would be that motorcars were lifted and destroyed, roofs removed from buildings and weak buildings destroyed.
"We have an average of 33 reports of tornadoes in the UK each year but these are especially rare in built-up areas and there has not been one of this strength in many years.
"City centres are not the natural habitat of a tornado; the tall buildings would normally stop their formation."
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41229000/jpg/_41229031_tornado1.jpg
Coventry was hit by a tornado during storms on Friday.
The tornado, which lasted about two minutes, was spotted over the Walsgrave and Stoke areas of the city but there have been no reports of damage.
Images of it were filmed by BBC Midlands Today viewer Colin Paterson, who lives in Parkside.
The Birmingham Met Office said that when thunderstorms are severe enough there are sometimes mini tornadoes associated with them.
Forecaster Pete Chapman said: "Usually it begins as a funnel cloud, snaking across the sky and sometimes this funnel cloud reaches the ground, causing a mini tornado.
"They're very localised but can cause severe local damage.
"They happen in several places in the Midlands in most years so they're not that uncommon."