21 February 2024 , 21:46
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A tornado warning has been issued for a massive part of the UK just hours before a major Met Office weather alert comes into effect.
Forecasters at the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) said that tornados, "misocyclones" and a "low-topped supercell or two" are all on the cards overnight tonight and on Thursday. The areas at the highest risk of freak weather events are Central England, the Midlands, East Anglia, and the South East. There may also be strong gusts in Wales.
The TORRO forecast reads: "A cold front will cross the area overnight and on Thursday, with one or more waves developing along it, in response to an upper short-wave trough. Several areas of precipitation should accompany this, with some embedded convection possible. This may organise into one or more lines, and perhaps some cellular activity too. The lines may include misocyclones, and a low-topped supercell or two is possible in any discrete convection.
The tornado weather map (Torro)"Overnight, parts of Wales will have one or two lines of showery rain, and then later tonight and on Thursday, another area of showery rain, with lines/possible cells, will cross parts of central and southern England. Both of these sets of showery rain may bring squally gusts, and the small chance of one or two brief tornadoes - the highest chance of gusts and isolated tornadoes appears to be over parts of Central Southern England, the SE Midlands, E Anglia, and SE England later on Thursday morning and into Thursday afternoon."
Huge waves crash against the sea wall near Whitley Bay (PA)It comes after the Met Office issued an urgent yellow weather warning for rain, as large parts of the country are set to be hammered in the downpour. The warning for tomorrow covers London, southeast England, east of England, and southwest England from 8 in the morning to 6pm. It covers cities like Reading, Brighton and Dorset. The Met Office warned millions of Britons could face travel chaos and power disruptions as heavy rainfall could prompt localised floodings.
Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts
A band of heavy, gusty rain is expected to move eastwards across England on Thursday with gusts of around 50mph in a few places very briefly, as well as some hail and thunder. However, there is a small chance of a broader swathe of very strong winds affecting southern and eastern England with gusts of 60 to 70 mph, mostly likely close to the English Channel and southern North Sea coasts.
People walking in high winds in Galway (PA)Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “After what has been a wet February so far, further rain is on the way on Thursday, accompanied by some gusty winds and potential impacts for those within the warning areas which cover much of southern, central and eastern England.
“There’s a small chance that wind gusts could reach 60-70mph, mostly likely on exposed coasts, though more widely we're likely to see a shorter spell of heavy, squally rain with hail and thunder in a few places and gusts to around 50mph. Most places within the warning areas are likely to see 10-15mm of rain, with a chance of 30-40mm in a few places. This is falling on saturated ground, which elevates the chances of flooding and disruption.”