Tornado Hits Isle of Lewis!

[dallas]

Close one!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8173784.stm

[Coast]

When will the ruddy media stop using that term?

The term 'Mini' should only be used for cars, skirts and hotel room bars!

[dallas]

When will the ruddy media stop using that term?

The term 'Mini' should only be used for cars, skirts and hotel room bars!

Yep a tornado is a tornado right

[CardiffStorm]

Yep a tornado is a tornado right

Yes, a tornado is a tornado, everytime there is a tornado in the UK they say its a "mini tornado" no matter the size of it. The media are so ignorant.

Anyway, heres a radar grab of the area at 9:50:

[dallas]

Yes, a tornado is a tornado, everytime there is a tornado in the UK they say its a "mini tornado" no matter the size of it. The media are so ignorant.

Anyway, heres a radar grab of the area at 9:50:

Cheers for that, you can see when playing the radar through they were under a large system

[Weather-history]

Even as far back as the Victorian age, they were sometimes called miniature tornadoes.

[Marcus_surfer]

Mini tornado? No such thing. Weak tornado yes

[sunny starry skies]

Annoying isn't it! I don't suppose the people who's camper van was blown about or those who have lost roof tiles etc will think of it as 'mini'. It's still a fully-fledged tornado! Cheers Coast for pointing me towards this topic :o - didn't see it earlier when I posted the BBC article on the general storm discussion board! If I could be bothered I'd look up some of the the old articles about 'funel clouds' or mini-tornados', but have to work...

Here's one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2364281.stm 'Mini-Tornado' damages 100 homes

But at least the Birmingham tornado got it's dues:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2005/07/28/tornado_feature.shtml

...perhaps because people were hurt?

[Cookie]

I didn't see this thread, as it dosen't really say in the title where it occured.

I was near the area at the time but going in other direction so I completly missed it and had no idea till today that it happend.

the path is took

from a local blog

Last night at around 9pm, the weather started to deteriorate markedly. Dark showerclouds moved up from the west, the wind (which had already been at force 5 all day) picked up further. The Eoropie private weather station recorded gusts of wind of 57 mph at one point. And just after 10pm, a tornado dropped in for a passing visit. It came ashore near the ferry terminal, overturned a car outside the Sea Angling Club, jumped to James Street to rip gates off a private driveway, then on to Garden Road where the lead flashings came loose on a house - presumably because the rooftiles were being lifted off. Trees had limbs taken off and shredded. Next on to Matheson Road, where two small trees were downed just off Smith Avenue. And Jamieson Drive, a little way further on, also incurred some damage. The twister disappeared in the darkness off Sand Street, 2 miles north of the original point of landfall.

On the Fujita scale, which measures the strength of a tornado, judging by the damage it leaves behind, this one was an F1 tornado. Overturning a car puts it at F1, as does roof damage. The Coastguard reported a sudden increase and decrease of windspeed as the phenomenon passed. The Met Office rainfall radar last night showed a small burst of intense rainfall, moving at high speed from the west coast of Uig to Stornoway between 9pm and 9.30pm.

http://arnish.islandblogging.co.uk/

[Mondy]

Damn. I was 12 hours too early to see this! On my way back home from St Kilda islands, got the ferry from Stornoway in the morning to Ullapool. Imagine if the "mini-tornado" struck the ferry!

[Cookie]

could have been very serious situation if it had hit the oil depot.

btw the car on the news is my mates car that got flipped

[Cookie]

my mates car below

http://www.wsmweather.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Isle-of-Lewis-Tornado-1.jpg

from the stornoway gazette

STORNOWAY was hit by a min tornado late last night (Tuesday) causing damage to cars, houses, trees…and overturning a camper van.

Those who witnessed the tornado expressed their fears as objects were flying around during the tornado which occurred around 10.30pm.

Stornoway police confirmed that what appeared to be a mini tornado had occurred through Stornoway, causing damage to several vehicles when hit by flying debris.

"A camper can was lifted off the ground and thrown into another vehicle," said a police spokesman today (Wednesday).

"Power and telephone lines were affected but are now being restored. Trees were uprooted and minor structural damage was caused to property," he said.

The police said that, despite the damage, there had been no reports of any person sustaining injuries.

Michelle Robson of Francis Street, who witnessed the tornado, said: "I didn't know what it was, but it was quite frightening as things were flying around all over the place. It only lasted a few seconds and then it was gone and it went quite calm after that," she said.

Ian Minty of James Street said that the incident was quite frightening. "It was over very, very quickly, around 10 to 15 seconds. I had never seen anything like that before in Stornoway. "We survived the big gale a few years ago, but it was nothing like the one this week," he added.

http://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/Stornoway-hit-by-mini-tornado.5504224.jp

and press and journal

Islanders counting cost of mini tornado

Published: 30/07/2009

People on Lewis were yesterday counting the cost after a mini tornado ripped through the island with Stornoway bearing the brunt.

It is estimated tens of thousand of pounds of damage was caused late on Monday, when the tornado landed near the ferry terminal.

An Astra was written off after the tornado picked it up, threw it against a lamppost and slammed it to the ground. It was flipped over outside the sea angling club beside a number of potentially explosive oil tanks.

The car had been borrowed by Iain Maciver of Coll, Lewis, from his father Danny Maciver, also of Coll. Mr Maciver sen said: I couldnt believe it when he phoned to tell me. Its lucky no one was killed.

Most of the devastation was suffered in nearby Garden Road where homes, vehicles and trees were damaged. A heavy wooden gate was ripped off and crashed into an MG ZS owned by pensioner Iain Smith, of Garden Road, smashing the windscreen and causing extensive damage. He said: It was horrendous. I thought it was the end of the world. The house was shaking. I thought a plane had hit it.

Andy Taylor, also of Garden Road, found his car with dents and bashes.

He said: The whole flat began to shake. Pictures were flying off the walls. There was a loud rumble which sounded like a train coming through. I looked outside and saw a gate flying past. It smashed into the neighbours car.

Builders were yesterday working flat out to repair roofs and replace leading and guttering. A number of windows to the rear of the sea angling club and Stornoway Fish Smokers had to be replaced.

The mini twister swept from the Newton area, up Matheson Road and north over the town. Two women in a caravan in Sand Street were so frightened they sought refuge in a shed and called the fire brigade for help.

The mini twister headed off into Tong where it sucked up a trampoline from Ian Macleods garden at Hillhead, Tong, and smashed it 300 yards down the croft.

He said: The trampoline is in bits. The tornado also smashed power cables. It was absolutely fierce just phenomenal.

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1330689