2nd August 1906: Guildford Tornado

[Weather-history]

An observer at Charterhouse School, Godalming gave this account

 

"At about 8.35pm, a few splotches of rain, a roar of the whirlwind and then such hail and rain as I had never witnessed before and trust may never again; the noise was deafening, as though hundered of loads of gravel were being shot from on high against the window panes, while all the while the thunder bellowed and crashed overhead. My front door opened when the tornado burst  and I had great difficulty in shutting it, but even in those few minutes my hall was flooded , curtains, mats and rugs blown upstairs and a bucketful of hailstones as large as sparrow's eggs deposited at the foot of the stairs.

 

600 flashes in 52 minutes were reported over London.

From Guardian of 3rd August 1906

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Weather-history