Will the UK be hit by a tornado this bank holiday weekend?

The weather has taken a bit of a turn for the worse this week with heavy and thundery showers recorded yesterday.

The Met Office even warned that the south east of England could have been hit by a funnel cloud or tornado yesterday.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said it was ‘not out of the question that we could see a funnel cloud, maybe even a brief tornado across parts of the South East’.

While there have been no reports of tornadoes or funnel clouds across the UK, the Met Office gave its verdict as to whether there will be any this bank holiday weekend.

Is a tornado forecast for this bank holiday weekend?

A spokesperson for the Met Office, told Metro: ‘There is a change coming in the UK weather this weekend, with more mobility from the west bringing fresher conditions, as well as rain and some windy weather.

‘This means the chance of any funnel cloud or small scale tornadoes diminishes, so no risk over the bank holiday weekend.’

So the short answer is no.

But there have been tornadoes recorded in the UK previously.

How common are tornadoes in the UK?

According to the Met Office, around 30 tornadoes are recorded in the UK each year.

These tend to be small and short-lived, but they can cause structural damage if they pass over built-up areas.

Tornadoes can occur across the world,d but they are most common across North America.

‘Tornado Valley’ in the centre of the US is most prone to violent and large tornadoes.

These are caused when warm air from the Gulf of Mexico meets cold air from Canada which form powerful storms called supercells and when the conditions are right tornadoes are formed.

What is the weather forecast for this weekend?

David Oliver from the Met Office explained that the high pressure will move away eastwards this weekend.

He said: ‘These will bring rain and windier conditions from the west later Friday, which will spread across the whole of the UK on Saturday. Some heavy rain is expected, especially in the northwest later on Saturday when winds will also strengthen, bringing a risk of coastal gales in the north.

‘These strong winds will continue on Sunday as an area of low pressure passes the northwest of the UK.

‘Blustery showers are expected on Sunday, which will be heaviest and most frequent in the northwest.’

While it is expected to be windy, on the plus side, temperatures will be broadly average for the time of year, around 18°C to 20°C across the country.

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