A mile-long tornado swept through Aldershot on Friday, damaging properties and felling trees.
The extreme weather event caused no injuries as it twisted through the Hampshire town at noon on Friday, according to the local council.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro), a privately supported research body specialising in severe convective weather in Britain and Ireland, tracked the length of the tornado’s movement to be 1.2 miles (2km) long.
Despite its size, the tornado was preliminarily classed as a T1 or T2 tornado by a Torro investigator, making it relatively minor.
A Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire and rescue service spokesperson said: “Firefighters were part of a joint response at an incident in Aldershot yesterday after a number of properties and trees were damaged in strong winds.
“Crews from Rushmoor and Surrey fire and rescue service were first called shortly after midday and worked closely with partner agencies to make the scene safe.”
Rushmoor borough council said: “There was a weather event in Cadnam Close, Aldershot, which caused damage to two blocks of flats and brought down several trees.
“Luckily, no one was injured.
“Damage to property has also been reported nearby in Lower Farnham Road, Osprey Gardens, Basing Drive, Andover Way, Ayling Lane, Sandown Crescent and Boxalls Lane.
“We are now working closely with all of our partner agencies to make the scene safe.”
The senior BBC Weather presenter Alexis Green said: “The UK, on average, has close to 30 tornadoes per year, although this varies year on year, so they are part of our climate.
after newsletter promotion
“They are rare at any one location, though.
“Today’s event was associated with the active thunderstorms in southern areas.”
Alex Baker, the MP for Aldershot, posted on X: “I’ve been out talking to residents whose homes were damaged.
“Thank you, Rushmoor fire brigade, the teams from Vivid Homes, and everyone else who came out to help with the cleanup. It was a great community effort.”