Mini ‘tornado’ causes damage to homes

Jan 10 2008 by Neil Atkinson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

RESIDENTS in parts of Huddersfield are counting the cost of a mini ‘tornado’.

They were left clearing up the damage left by freak winds which swept through the area on Tuesday night.

And it is believed much of the damage could have been caused by a tornado, which hit parts of Marsden and Linthwaite.

Thousands of pounds damage was caused when the gales hit the town.

Engineers spent much of yesterday restoring power and telephone lines to parts of the Colne Valley.

Insurers were also called out to assess the damage to windows, roofs and buildings in the path of the storm.

Marsden resident, Mrs Caitlin Sagan, said: “It was frightening.

“It all happened in the space of a few minutes but it was really bad.

“We had a huge sycamore tree brought down on our garden, crushing my little boy’s garden playhouse and swings.

“My neighbour had his roof damaged and another had windows put through, but the damage seems to have been on a narrow trail. Other parts of the area were undamaged.”

Mrs Sagan, living in Spring Grove with husband Stan and four-year-old Jakob, said she heard a loud bang like thunder shortly after 8pm.

“It was snowing and hailing and the winds were terrible, but within minutes they had gone.

“It was a spectacular storm and when we went out yesterday we were amazed at the trail of damage.

“It looked just like a tornado had swept through.”

Salendine Nook meteorologist Paul Stevens said it may well have been a tornado.

“The European Storm Centre put out a warning about a very active cold front, with a squall line on it, and said it could well lead to a tornado being formed.

“If not a tornado, it was certainly a very dramatic storm with a squall causing very localised damage”.

Elsewhere in the UK, gales reached 90mph and left a trail of damage, particularly across Scotland.