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As severe thunderstorms continue to hit parts of Europe, the results can be dramatic.
[A] tornado struck the communities of Pettingen and Kaerjengin, near the border with France and Belgium, leaving a path of destruction that destroyed some 100 houses.
[...] A spokesperson for Luxembourg police reported a "swath of desolation" spanning up to six kilometres. The country's rescue centre said cleanup would take days. Emergency shelters have been set up for those who lost their homes.
On the same day, a tornado swept through Amsterdam's Oosterdok Basin, in the Netherlands, as storms hit the region. No injuries were reported and the damage was minimal.
Tornadoes are less common in Europe than in the United States, where Tornado Alley in the Midwest experiences hundreds every year. So far this year, there have been 1,300 confirmed tornadoes in the US. While Europe's tornado touchdowns are not as frequent, every year between 200 and 400 occurrences are reported. Italy and Greece see more tornado activity, as the warm, moist Mediterranean air clashes with the cool, dryer air over the mountains.
[...] The United Kingdom also sees a high number of tornadoes, averaging between 30 and 50 each year. That is more tornadoes average land area than anywhere in the world, apart from the Netherlands.
[...] Most tornadoes that develop across Europe have much less damaging effect than those in the US, but Luxembourg on Friday was one exception, as was the case in 2005 in Birmingham in the UK. The 2005 tornado lasted for approximately 10 minutes, with wind speeds up to 233km/h. It uprooted about 1,000 trees, injured 19 people and caused damage of around 40 million British pounds ($49m).
(Score: 1) by Debvgger on Wednesday August 14 2019, @12:06PM (5 children)
... I have seen one once in my whole life. More precisely, in a small city called "Mollet". It was small, but it made the news everywhere because it's such a rare phenomenon. Broke a few things but nobody got hurt.
My parents were out of home at the time and I was near there for whatever reason. I noticed a lot of wind and I thought it could be a good idea to check on the bird they had back then. When I got out of the car this small tornado passed at just two or three meters in front of me, I think I may have been even a bit inside. I didn't fly but the wind was amazingly strong. It was a few meters in diameter and I remember it as maybe... 10 or 15 meters? tall.
If you can read Spanish or want to to auto-translate it, here's a random link about it: https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2005/09/08/sociedad/1126166315.html [elmundo.es]
:-)
(Score: 1) by Debvgger on Wednesday August 14 2019, @12:13PM
As a follow up, here's a video with a few pictures. These were taken at about... One or two hundred meters from where I crossed paths with the tornado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6YcQgxynvI [youtube.com]
(Score: 1) by jjr on Wednesday August 14 2019, @02:45PM (1 child)
While small tornadoes are not uncommon here in Catalonia (called "mà negues" - hoses in english), it's very rare that they reach the land and cause damage. They usually stay in the sea.
I've only experienced them once, it was on September 7th 2005, where up to three tornadoes bigger than the typical small ones caused some havoc in the area of Barcelona and surrounding cities. I got some pictures (shitty ones, the cellphone I carried back then didn't have a good camera) of them. although they're not published in the internet anymore.
(Score: 1) by Debvgger on Wednesday August 14 2019, @03:07PM
Maybe we are talking about the same day? Who knows :-)
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday August 14 2019, @03:52PM (1 child)
Your description sounds much more like a Dust Devil than a Tornado. When I lived in New Mexico, I was run over by a Dust Devil while I was out riding my bike. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_devil [wikipedia.org] vs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado [wikipedia.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1) by Debvgger on Wednesday August 14 2019, @04:21PM
Taking a look at the Dust Devil picture I can really tell you it's exactly what I witnessed / experienced. Thanks for the comment!