A tornado warning has been issued for southern parts of England as Storm Ciarán makes landfall on the south coast.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) has warned that one or two tornadoes could hit the UK during Storm Ciarán.
They said that they could take place between 6pm on Wednesday evening and 8am on Thursday morning.
TORRO said: “The highest risk of one or two tornadoes would likely be along and south of a line from South Wales to London, but the risk cannot be ruled out a bit further north too, hence the Watch Box extending into the Midlands and East Anglia.”
They said: “This outlook is concerned with the risk of one or two tornadoes from convection associated with the storm, especially on the cold front of the system.
“Modest instability will overlap with very strong low-level shear across the area, starting over the SW of England this evening, and then progressing eastwards towards East Anglia early tomorrow morning.
“Instability will tend to decrease inland, and the northern extent of the risk is somewhat uncertain.”
TORRO also warned that tornadoes could bring with them some unique problems.
They warned: “Very strong gusts may accompany some of the showery activity – and occasional lightning is possible, most likely near the south coast.
“Also, the strongest cells may produce some small hail.”
Ahead of Storm Ciarán – which follows hot on the heels of the deadly Storm Babet and just ahead of the potentially troubling Storm Debi – the Met Office warned about a weather bomb that might hit the UK.
Meteorologists said Storm Ciaran was a “bomb cyclone” and that the storm would “reach peak intensity upon arrival on European shores with severe weather warnings issued”.
Mr Duncan added: “The explosive deepening of the surface low should be among the deepest low-pressure systems on record for this part of the world.”
A weather bomb is an area of low pressure where the measurement of the central pressure falls in a 24-hour period.
Known as explosive cyclogenesis, it is better known as a weather bomb.
