Tornados and floods hit Britain - Polidicks

[B]- Three tornados in 24 hours hit UK as Met Office says April could be 'wettest on record' - But drought could 'last till Christmas' as land is too dry to soak up the rain[/B] [B]- The Environment Agency warns more heavy rain could lead to localised flooding across the nation[/B] [B]- Possible weather warnings this Sunday as forecasters say weather looks set to remain unsettled for at least the next week with heavy showers [/B] [quote][B]Next time someone complains that we spend too much time talking about the weather, just remind them about this week.[/B] For in the last 24 hours, three tornados have swept through some parts of the country - in one case killing 20 chickens - and a deluge of rain looks set to [B]make this month the wettest April on record but we are still suffering a drought. [/B]Yesterday the town of Rugby, an allotment in Newport, and a tiny hamlet in Essex all experienced that most rare and bizarre of weather phenomena, when [B]tornadoes touched down to wreak havoc[/B]. And forecasters predict the unsettled weather is not going anywhere.[B] Over the next two days wind and rain will batter the country and the Met Office warns it is likely to issue severe weather warnings for Sunday.[/B] The first reported tornado yesterday was in the tiny hamlet of Whiteash Green, near Halstead, Essex, which [B]killed 20 chickens, flattened barns and lifted one man into the air.[/B] Farmer Alan Barrow was lifted off his feet by the high winds which hit the hamlet of at about 4pm yesterday. The tornado's trail of destruction left behind flattened sheds, damaged walls, and killed 20 chickens when it lifted their run up into the air and then threw it back down to the ground. Witness Tony Blackwell watched the Halstead tornado from his father's business, Tom Blackwell plant hire, along with his mother and his brother-in-law. He said: 'I was in the workshop, when suddenly this howling started up and we rushed to have see what the noise was. 'From there we watched the twister travelling down the valley over three or four minutes, and it was trying to blow all the trees over. Some fell across a pond and some trees fell onto the road - and these were big trees - maybe a foot and a half wide around the trunk. 'The tornado went down the valley before turning right and onto the farm, where we heard later it caused a lot of damage. 'The debris was being blown round in a circle perhaps up to a 100m wide, and it was even wider at the top - a proper funnel shape.' Rugby in Warwickshire also suffered a 'mini-tornado' at around 6pm last night, and [B]allotment owners in Newport also got the shock of their lives as a tornado flew past. [/B] Warwickshire Police said a number of properties suffered structural damage. A spokeswoman said: '[B]One house in Adams Street is reported to have had the roof blown off, and another suffered extensive damage when wind blew the chimney stack down. [/B] [B]The Met Office said today that heavy showers would continue in North Wales and the north of England, which could cause flash floods with up to 155mm of rain falling in an hour with the south of England expected to suffer the worst of the tomorrow's rainfall.[/B] Despite the downpour, water companies remain adamant that [B]hosepipe bans will not be lifted[/B], saying the downpour is not enough to end the official drought caused by two dry winters. Hardest hit was the South West, where the Environment Agency issued flood warnings for the Devon rivers Axe, Otter, Coley and Taw, along with the Char and Wriggle in Dorset. Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said: ‘[B]It’s going to take more than a week or two of rain to undo the effects of nearly two years of below-average rainfall. [/B] [B]With dry soil most of the rain will be soaked up – or, worse still, run off quickly if the surface is compacted, causing flash floods.’ [/B] A spokesman for the Met Office said: [B] ‘There is no real end in sight to this unsettled period of weather.[/B] 'We’ll certainly see showers across the country in the next seven days and longer forecasts suggest it will continue through much of May.’ [/quote] [IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/25/article-2135220-12C2D016000005DC-889_964x640.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/25/article-2135220-12C2E875000005DC-308_964x667.jpg[/IMG] [url]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135422/UK-weather-Farmer-lifted-feet-tornado-head-wettest-April-EVER.html[/url]

"forecasts suggest it will continue through much of May.’ Damn...

[b]"- But drought could 'last till Christmas' as land is too dry to soak up the rain"[/b] What the fuck? How is land too dry to soak up water

i really want to post that "QUIT HITTING THE TORNADO BUTTON YOU CHUCKLEFUCK" image but it'd be heavily insensitive. we are not built for tornadoes, it is a crippling weakness like mild snowfall.

[QUOTE=bluesky;35720549][b]"- But drought could 'last till Christmas' as land is too dry to soak up the rain"[/b] What the fuck? How is land too dry to soak up water[/QUOTE] I guess the soil contracts, becoming less porous?

Ahh I hate floods.

It's been pissing it down for the past two days up here in Newcastle. No tornadoes though

Considering Britain apparently gets more tornadoes than America this doesn't surprise me much.

I just keep picturing those chickens spinning up in the air with the tornado, oh dear.

I cycled to college this morning as well (live in Portsmouth where that scaffolding picture was taken) wasn't that bad.

wtf i live in britain and i havnt seen a tornado or a flood

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;35720737]Considering Britain apparently gets more tornadoes than America this doesn't surprise me much.[/QUOTE] I honestly didn't know Britain ever got tornadoes.

[QUOTE=Chicken_Chaser;35720941]I honestly didn't know Britain ever got tornadoes.[/QUOTE] They are extremely rare and are always very low powered. [editline]26th April 2012[/editline] According to the met office there is no weather at all. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/hq1DV.png[/IMG] [editline]26th April 2012[/editline] Report on one of the tornadoes. [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-17851013[/url]

[IMG]http://jpgdump.com/files/4830.jpg[/IMG]

oh thank god it only hit essex

Would be down south wouldn't it? We never see any exciting weather up here.

These kind of weathers become a lot more common in the future because of global warming. And it's already too late to stop it, here comes the consequences of the 1980's.

As long as it's sunny in Ayr next week I'll be happy.

[QUOTE=Jackald;35721298]Correct, after a long, cool, dry period of time, the soil is compacted and unable to absorb water as quickly as when it's dampened.[/QUOTE] oh wow I don't even know anything about geology, that was the first thing I guessed :v:

[QUOTE=matt.ant;35720462] [IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/25/article-2135220-12C2D016000005DC-889_964x640.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] oh good god no, that poor bmw

Where I am, the weather literally goes from heavy rain, to sunshine, and then back. All in 10 minutes.

[QUOTE=Jackald;35721405]Smeismastger, would you care to explain why you think global warming caused this weather? [img]http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/PWSCache/SurfacePressureCharts/TimeStep/0[/img] Cause this weather chart from the MET office would appear to suggest that the area of low pressure sitting over the UK is caused by the Polar Continental and Tropical Maritime air masses pushing against each other, whilst a low-pressure system caused by the cold, wet Polar Maritime and warm, dry Tropical Continental air masses (mostly the latter) feeds the low pressure system and maintains it, also causing high amounts of condensation as the air masses meet (obviously due to there being a series of weather fronts here) Global warming could be attributed to a factor if this time of the year were any warmer than usual, since the rising air in the South-mid-Atlantic would be warm, cause evaporation, and then blow inland towards the UK, hitting the UK with a hurricane or strong winds, as has happened in the past (the great storm of 1987), however none of these conditions have actually been met, except for a movement of Tropical Maritime air coming towards the UK; the temperature isn't warmer than average, it's actually colder than average for this time of year in the Tropical Maritime. This entire weather system has been caused by the sudden change in pressure, which can be attributed to the movement of air, which can not be attributed directly to any factors from global warming. But no, let's ignore all the evidence and theories of how weather systems work and just say that every single time there's bad weather it's global warming's fault. In case you couldn't tell by my sarcasm, i'm pointing out that whilst a rise in global temperatures is responsible for some extreme weather events, it's fucking annoying when people just apply it to every single time there is one.[/QUOTE] uhm aren't you being a little simplistic here climate change (not global warming, no scientist ever uses that term) increases both average temperature and variance of temperature

Um, fuck you weather. Every single time I'm supposed to be going up gliding, this happens. Meh. In all seriousness, that's some major low pressure we've got there. Hopefully the Met Office is mistaken this time and it doesn't stay quite this bad.

it pissed it down here earlier today, the path out of my school goes down a hill and is slightly banked, with a manmade pond on the left - the water has flooded out of the pond and on to the path, to get out of school without being half way up your keks in dirty water you need a fucking rubber dinghy

This has been the driest 18 months on record, forcing a hosepipe ban to be put into place. One week of average rain happens and people say `Why is there still a hosepipe ban?!?!?!1!` Morons. [editline]26th April 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Cheese?;35720939]wtf i live in britain and i havnt seen a tornado or a flood[/QUOTE] Only pathetic and hilarious ones though.

Hah, mainland Britain think they have it bad? It'll be raining petrol bombs in Northern Ireland in a few months time! :v:

[QUOTE=matt.ant;35720462] [IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/25/article-2135220-12C2D016000005DC-889_964x640.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] Wow, and I'm only about fifteen minutes away from there. I didn't realize it was that bad.

Wait... We're having a drought with warnings of heavy rainfall... I'm so very confused

[QUOTE=Paravin;35721388]oh good god no, that poor bmw[/QUOTE] It's a rover, learn to car :v:

It's a bit of rain and wind, GET THE FUCK OVER IT. When we started getting Tornados that tear buildings from the ground and sling them through the air, then you can all complain.