Tornado damages properties and blows over trees

A tornado has swept through a Hampshire town, causing damage to properties and trees to fall down.

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation said it tracked the column of air moving about 1.2 miles (2km) through the Aldershot area shortly after 12:00 BST.

Nobody is believed to have been injured, Rushmoor Borough Council said.

The authority urged residents to call emergency services if they saw damaged trees they believed were dangerous.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said: "Firefighters are part of a joint response at an incident in Aldershot after a number of properties and trees were damaged in strong winds.

"Crews from Rushmoor and Surrey Fire and Rescue Services were first called shortly after midday and are working closely with partner agencies to make the scene safe."

Videos from doorbell cameras have been posted on social media appearing to show the tornado blowing debris into the air.

Roof tiles have been seen on roads and pavements in the area.

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.

"They are rare at any one location, though.

"Today’s event was associated with the active thunderstorms in southern areas."

The tornado arrived a day after the Met Office issued a yellow thunderstorm warning and following a week of temperatures in the south regularly exceeding 20C.

Thunder and lightning was seen across much of the region around the time the tornado was spotted.

Paul Knightley, head of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation, confirmed it was a tornado.

He told the BBC: “The formation of tornadoes is still the subject of intensive research, and their exact mechanisms are yet to be understood.

"In a broad sense, though, pre-existing rotation in the lower atmosphere can be stretched by the strong upwards-moving air in a thunderstorm, and focussed into a tornado. This seems likely to have been what happened today.”

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