LATE REPORT FROM JULY
2 FC 30th July Sculthorpe, Norfolk. Report sent in by TORRO member Sam Jowett courtesy of UK Weather World message board.
FC 30th July 1430 BST Mildenhall, Suffolk. TORRO member David Chaplin made the observation.
TN 30th July 1730 BST Stowmarket, Suffolk. Eyewitness Neil Stevens saw this tornado touch down momentarily, though no associated damage has been reported,
2 FC 30th July 1730. Stowmarket, Suffolk. A further two definite funnel clouds were also observed in the vicinity. Neil Stevens.
AUGUST WHIRLWIND EVENTS
Once again a less than average month with just two waterspouts and two funnel clouds. By comparison last August saw seven tornadoes, two waterspouts, two land devils, nineteen funnel clouds and eight probable funnel clouds.
WS 19th Aug 1915 BST. 10 miles south of Salcombe, Devon. A classic thin 'pencil' waterspout touched down in the English channel, emanating from the front of the cloud. Viewed from a motor cruiser. Lasting approx 15 minutes. No thunder heard. Sea conditions were calm with blue sky surrounding one isolated cb. Photo's supplied as proof.
FC 19th Aug 1930 BST. Same location. 'Tuba' i.e.. dome type funnel cloud was observed. Developing from another sector of the cloud base.
FC 28th Aug . Shanklin, Isle of Wight. This report was sent in by TORRO member Sam Jowett. Funnel was observed for 15 minutes. Damage to trees were later found in the vicinity of the sighting, though its association to the funnel has not been confirmed.
4 FC 30th Aug 1045 BST. Plympton, S. Devon. TORRO's Keith Mortimore observed 4 well developed funnel clouds from near Plympton, S. Devon.
WS 31st Aug. 1930 BST. Caernarfon Bay, Wales. This waterspout was observed and photographed as proof.
AN OFFICIAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY WAS ISSUED FOR SCOTLAND ON THE 18th AUG AND AN OFFICIAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH WAS ISSUED ON SUNDAY 10th AUGUST.
Forecaster (Meteorologist) Paul Knightley.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
Do we find ourselves saying "where have all the storms gone?" There's bleak and then there's really bleak. Ah well, maybe natures brewing up for a 'Grand Finally'! Looking back at August synopsis in general we can see a ridge of high pressure dominate much of the month leaving many of us hot and bothered and a bit sweaty under the collar. The usual thundery breakdown of the high pressure that we would normally expect to see did not occur. I suppose you could say it sort of slipped away rather than dissipating with a bang. Nevertheless August as a whole, did have a few notable thunderstorm events though regrettably one with dire consequences. On10th August lightning struck a crowd at a football match almost killing one of the spectators and injuring many others.
Interesting to note once again that the above mentioned tornadic reports all occurred in what would appear to be stable conditions with almost no vertical windshear. Again we need to look much closer at the model forecast and tephigrams to understand the real risk potential for such occurrences. The lowest layer of the atmosphere holds the key, though such event are nevertheless extremely hard to accurately predict.
Behind the 'facade' TORRO continues to enjoy much interest from various media and newspaper groups. On average we receive three calls per week for technical advice for the production of severe weather documentaries or articles for publication. In addition to this TORRO continues to provide assistance to many University students studying for their various weather related examinations.
Mailing List
Our apologies go out to all members regarding a large image file that was accidentally approved within the mailing software. This post also crashed my computer due to its size, hopefully this situation will not happen again, so don't panic everyone!
Much like us all, a new digital camera is an excellent tool for weather capture but please everyone, adjust your settings to low size images if you intend posting these on the internet. Alternatively resample the image using a graphics package. Robert don't worry you are forgiven and we all appreciate some good photo's to the mailing list!!!
A big thanks to Mark Humpage our mailing list administrator who has managed to successfully open the severe weather mailing list option torrosvrwx@list.zetnet.co.uk you are all automaticallysubscribed to this list, so please save it in your address book. Please note this list is there for reporting severe weather or damage site investigations ONLY. TORRO executive Paul Knightley will also release official weather advisories from here. In short, if we get a complex and severe weather event, information and co ordination will emanate from this point.
Please note that our mailing software releases a note every month to all members should you wish to change your mail settings or unsubscribe. Please use this link rather than posting mail requests directly to the general list. Thankyou.
TORRO Conference
Please note that the TORRO conference will be held 20th Sept 2003 at the Oxford Brookes University room DEMO6, Gypsy Lane, Headington Oxford. This is a good meeting point to share ideas and discuss severe weather amongst others with similar interests. We have several quality talks lined up for which we hope will benefit us all. Please do make an effort to join and support us on that day.
For bookings and information ellie.gatrill-smith@torro.org.uk or go to the TORRO web site and print off the form from your computer. Scott Sawyer our merchandise man will be there with T shirts etc so you may want to bring your cheque book because the gear looks pretty good and reasonable in price!
Site Investigations and Reporting
Though there hasn't been a great deal to talk about or research lately. I would just like to mention again when reporting please give day, date, time place (and county) when reporting. If we do not have these details the we cannot officially record the event. Many of our recent reports have been entered in lower case, which means basically that we were unable to substantiate its origin. This is a shame and could effect TORRO's future figures for research purposes. Please remember that the internet is a wonderful tool for finding information. If you think something has occurred, surf the web and share the link with all of us. Better still please do not wait for TORRO to contact you go ahead and investigate and I am always here at the other end of the phone for guidance and co ordination 023 92502551.
Final Word
September and October are upon us. Statistically good severe weather producers. Let's keep our ears to the ground!!
Best Wishes Tony Gilbert (Executive to The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation)