A mini tornado hit east London last night and the scenes were like something out of a disaster movie.
Footage shared on social media showed high winds pummelling the streets of Barking and Dagenham, with fallen tree branches flying across the roads and walls collapsing as a result of the onslaught.
Residents posted images and videos of their surroundings, as they voiced their bewilderment at the extreme weather event.
The shocking scenes featured debris soaring through the air and flash-flooding, with one viewer commenting: “Climate change is no joke.”
Police said they “weren’t able to confirm” reports of a tornado, but people in the area seemed pretty sure of what they saw.
Here’s a glimpse at what they endured:
This happened in the UK? Climate change is no joke. A whole Barking una 😳 pic.twitter.com/LhcXJo4eoi
— ㅤ (@shannonrosanna) June 25, 2021
A whole tornado in barking, london yk pic.twitter.com/X20PRZSyj3
— 🏌️ (@haar_1s) June 25, 2021
OMG we had tornadoes 🌪 in barking and Dagenham pic.twitter.com/pIduKQZad7
— Stephanie Miller (@Stephan90576149) June 25, 2021
How is there a whole tornado in Barking 😭😭 that place is acc cursed pic.twitter.com/094BJoSu4V
— ✾ (@urfavebint) June 25, 2021
@LondonSnowWatch @EssexWeather major flooding in Gidea Park from intense downpours pic.twitter.com/mMaP8Zbiyz
— Javelin Sam (@javelinsam) June 25, 2021
🌪 #Tornado in #Barking #Essex Today pic.twitter.com/JIOq5ocz6O
— IMRANO © ⚒ (@1mrano) June 25, 2021
Severe flooding in Dagenham Essex 😳 #Barking #Tornado pic.twitter.com/kBnEgczrXH
— Fzc77 (@fzc22) June 25, 2021
Tornado in Barking, wth!! pic.twitter.com/Y5HaRJKyM7
— Yamin321 (@yaminasfa) June 25, 2021
So that was definitely a tornado in Barking, East London right? pic.twitter.com/iVqBGLZvzb
— Sohaib Malik (@sohaib_malik01) June 25, 2021
If you ever need proof of climate change, look to the tornado in Barking.
— ℜ𝔦𝔠 𝔓𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔬𝔫 (@RicPendragon) June 26, 2021
Sure it may be small in comparison to other counties, but the UK doesn't tend to get them, just look at our Wikipedia list. pic.twitter.com/Yi00vxAeQM
A twister in Barking?
— Bitcoin To the Moon🚀 (@ThinkingNothin) June 25, 2021
Climate Change has arrived in London
Local police attempted to quell the excitement on Friday night, tweeting:
(2/2) In addition to the lightning strike, we have seen reports of a tornado but cannot confirm this. There are no reports of any casualties. Officers are liaising with the local authority to ensure support is available to anyone affected by damage to property.
— Barking & Dagenham Police #Hands_Face_Space (@MPSBarkDag) June 25, 2021
Meanwhile Barking and Dagenham Council responded with:
⚠️ WEATHER UPDATE - 20:20 | We're aware of the severe weather damage in the Barking area and our Immediate Response team along with the police and fire brigade are on hand sorting any issues. As soon as we hear of any further information, we will let you know. ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/2nVQYUaISn
— Barking and Dagenham (@lbbdcouncil) June 25, 2021
Met Office forecaster Matthew Box said “it is probable that a brief tornado did occur”.
A series of meteorological conditions are needed to create a tornado, including a funnel of cloud that reaches the ground, and these various factors have not been confirmed by experts.
“The associated thunderstorms produced some very heavy and impactful rain over parts of north and east London and Essex which did result in flooding and travel disruption,” Box said.
Some places are likely to have seen more than 40mm of rainfall in an hour.
The forecaster added that none of the Met Office’s sites recorded the wind associated with the event, mainly because “it was on a small scale relatively speaking”.
He said: “For those affected, there were very damaging winds.”
The Met Office had issue a yellow thunderstorm warning on Friday evening which expired at 11pm.
⚠️ Yellow thunderstorm warning issued ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 25, 2021
Slow-moving thunderstorms will give heavy downpours leading to some flooding & travel disruption across parts of London & Essex. Warning valid until 2300.
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/boT2kcR8P8
There are about 35 tornadoes on average in the UK each year which would possibly cover “tens to hundreds of metres” and not be on the large scale that you might find in the US, Box added.
Try telling that to the residents of Barking and Dagenham who have seen their houses damaged by the jaw-dropping conditions.
