A tornado swept through Aldershot, Hampshire, causing havoc to the town’s properties and knocking down trees. The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation confirmed that it tracked the tornado moving about 1.2 miles through the area shortly after 12:00 BST. The authority of Rushmoor Borough Council said no reports of injuries were made. The council urged residents to call the emergency services if they spotted damaged trees that they considered dangerous.
Various doorbell cameras caught videos of the tornado blowing debris into the air, leading to roof tiles scattered on roads and pavements in the area. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service stated that they were a part of the joint response to an incident in Aldershot as crews from Surrey Fire and Rescue Services and Rushmoor were called shortly after midday. They worked closely with partner agencies to secure the scene.
Alexis Green, a senior BBC weather presenter, noted that on average, the UK has close to 30 tornadoes every year, although the frequency varies each year and they are rare in a single location. Today’s event was linked with southern areas’ active thunderstorms. A yellow thunderstorm warning was released by the Met Office the day before, and temperatures in the south regularly exceed 20C.
Paul Knightley, the head of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation, confirmed that it was a tornado and stated that the exact mechanism behind the formation of tornadoes is yet to be understood. In general, pre-existing rotation in the lower atmosphere could be stretched by the significant upward-moving air in a thunderstorm and concentrated into a tornado. This seems likely to have been the cause of yesterday’s tornado.
The tornado caused damage to gardens all over Aldershot, with debris from houses strewn across pavements and roads. However, it is fortunate that no one got hurt in the incident
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