A possible tornado has hit the Irish village of Leitrim and police have told people to “avoid the area” after serious damage was reported on Sunday afternoon.
No casualties have been reported, but footage on social media appears to show a tornado tearing through Leitrim.
Paddy Farrell who witnessed what happened, told the PA news agency: “I was driving my Jeep. It sounded as if there was a crowd pegging stones at my Jeep as I was driving through, with all the debris that was flying around.
“It just happened all of a sudden.”
Leitrim hurricane aftermath pic.twitter.com/uh4k5Kmom2
— Ciaran Mullooly (@ciaranmullooly) December 10, 2023
Farrell added, “There was a roof taken off a building, and there was several buildings damaged.
“Even on fairly new apartments there was a damage, I think the window blew in on one of them.
“There’s a lot of cars damaged, there could be 10-20 cars damaged.”
Incredible footage of the tornado ripping through Leitrim County, Ireland this afternoon! 😲
📸 mcnally_92 via Reddit pic.twitter.com/I4vcpe5hSI
— Kildare Weather (@KildareMet) December 10, 2023
Farrell said the experience was scary, “No one was badly injured, but I think there were two minor injuries,” he added, “I was actually shook when I came home to the house, because it was frightening – I kept going to get home as quick as I could.”
The Met Office has warned that heavy rainfall will be potentially “disruptive” in northern England and Scotland on Monday.
There is a yellow weather warning from 5pm on Sunday until 3am on Monday morning stretching from Carlise to Sheffield.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said, “Fergus will bring some strong winds and heavy rain for a time late on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday morning.
A tornado struck Leitrim village in County Leitrim in #Ireland this afternoon, causing damage to vehicles and buildings. pic.twitter.com/sz3140Gp7x
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) December 10, 2023
“While the strongest gusts are expected in the Republic of Ireland, Storm Fergus will bring some windy conditions to western areas, including Irish Sea coasts, while also bringing some potentially impactful rain.
“The rain has potential to be disruptive in parts of northern England and parts of Scotland, especially where it’s falling on very saturated ground.”
