Forecasters in spin over tornado storm

Spinning “supercell” storms crossed the south Midlands bringing rain, large hailstones and even a tornado to Oxfordshire.

The thunderstorm was initially reported on Monday, starting in Wiltshire before moving north to Oxfordshire.

One tornado was sighted in several places including Bicester, Eynsham and Kidlington.

Meteorologists have since confirmed the existence of the tornado – thought to be caused by a supercell storm in which the air rotates quickly.

However, while forecasters yesterday predicted more spectacular weather they added that such conditions were unlikely to reach Yorkshire even though there was a “definite chance” of further thunderstorms .

Richard Glazer drove through Monday’s tornado with his wife and son in Kidlington, just north of Oxford. He said: “It was very wet, we were just driving on the A34 and looked up and realised one part of the sky was moving in one direction and another in the opposite direction.

“I thought, ‘that looks like a tornado!’ We pretty much drove through it, we were right underneath it. As we drove into it the trees were blowing left to right and as we got through it they were blowing the other way.

“It wasn’t particularly big but it was amazing to see the change in the environment. You suddenly realise the force of nature, it’s incredible.”

One forecaster explained that while tornadoes were not unusually in the UK, they rarely hit the ground as they more commonly do in parts of the US.

Monday’s storm was also believed to have caused tornadoes in Essex after making its way across Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire.