Bristolians were left agog after witnessing a rare weather phenomenon which is often described as a tornado. The Met Office has explained the likely cause of the unusual occurrence yesterday evening (Friday).
Sam, a resident at the border of St George and Hanham, said the “mini tornado” blew roof tiles off a neighbouring property while another elsewhere claimed bins and a bouncy castle went flying at a school event.
Sam told Bristol Live: “I was in my lounge at around 7.30pm, trying to keep cool and was looking out of my bifold doors when I saw a bit of a breeze, trees moving, then it actually got quite windy.
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“I’d just bought a new rose bush and it was still in its pot as I hadn’t planted it yet and it was really being blown about so I went out to move it. Then I saw my shade umbrella was up and thought ‘Oh my god, I’m going to have to get that down quickly or it’ll take that up as well’.
Repairs to a roof in St George were needed after the ‘mini tornado’ -Credit:submitted
“It’s one of those ones that winds down and you have to duck under or your head gets stuck and by the time I’d done that I looked over that the houses behind my house and I could see something was wrong – tiles were disturbed along the roofs. My neighbour came out and he was saying there was no breeze at all then suddenly there was this really strong wind.”
Referencing the infamous tornado in the Wizard of Oz, Sam remarked: “It was so strong I was thinking I’d be meeting the Tin Man and Lion at this rate and I’d need red shoes if I wanted to get home!”
Another person contacted Bristol Live at a similar time claiming that a local primary school was “hit by a mini tornado”. They claimed the wind was powerful enough to move a bouncy castle as well as bins and parents were so fearful they grabbed their children lest they also be swept up.
Though the incident was described as being like a tornado, a spokesperson for the Met Office said: “It is unlikely that it was a tornado as the weather conditions weren’t right yesterday afternoon/evening.
“For a tornado to form you need deep/severe convection, i.e. cumulonimbus clouds and thunderstorms.
“However, this could have a been a dust devil, also called a Willy Willy – a short-lived spell of rotating winds, but much less powerful and destructive compared to tornadoes.
You can find out more about dust devils and willy-willies here. Did you see the ‘tornado’? Please email newsdesk@bristolpost.co.uk