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| Extreme tornado damage in the Czech Republic this week. |
Damaging tornadoes have struck the Czech Republic, China, London, England, and as we talked about the other day, Quebec.
CZECH, LONDON TORNADOES
Arguably the worst of the tornadoes hit the Czech Republic
The tornado in the Czech Republic trashed several villages along a 15-mile path. In addition to the five deaths it caused, about 100 people were injured and many homes damaged or destroyed. In one village with a population of 1,600 people, at least one third of the houses were destroyed and only 15% of them were fully intact, said the BBC.
Judging by the photos, this was probably an EF-3 or EF-4 tornado.
Scary video of this tornado taken by somebody as it approached, then trashed their house while they were inside. Pro tip: When there's a tornado, hide in basement or sturdy interior room. Stay away from the windows!!
Tornadoes are common in Europe but strong ones aren't. In the decade ending in 2020, there were 3,827 tornadoes in Europe, but only 28 of them were strong or violent, meaning EF-3 or higher, according to the European Severe Storms Laboratory.
Specifically in the Czech Republic, tornadoes are rare and tend to be weak, not violent like the one this week. The nation usually gets a few weak tornadoes each year.
A couple of these relative weaker, but still dangerous tornadoes hit other European countries this week Video showed a tornado unroofing a hilltop building in France.
Another apparent tornado hit Barking, in east London Friday. Video on social media showed a whirl in the clouds that looked a bit like a cinnamon bun, and debris swirling in a circle beneath it. Video on social media from one Barking neighborhood showed trees snapping off, roof tiles lifting off buildings and walls lining yards toppling.
The UK on average has about 35 tornadoes per year, most of them comparatively weak like the one Friday in Barking, London
CHINA TORNADO
A violent tornado struck China's Inner Mongolia province Friday, with six people recorded there. This is reportedly the sixth violent, damaging tornado in China this spring and early summer. Other than this one, one of the worst was at the start of the month, when another strong tornado hit China's northeast Heilongjiang province, killing one person and injuring 16 others.
QUEBEC UPDATE
As we reported earlier this week, an EF-2 tornado hit a suburb north of Montreal Monday, killing one person and causing widespread damage to homes in the town of Mascouche.
It turns out that was one of four tornadoes in the severe weather outbreak in Quebec Monday. Another, weaker tornado hit St. Valentin, Quebec. This was only 14 miles north of Alburgh, Vermont. I watched that parent supercell on radar, starting from when it caused straight line wind damage in the northern tip of New York. Radar images did look tornado-ish to me as the storm crossed into Quebec. Now we know.
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| This home was pulled from its foundation and destroyed by a tornado in Quebec on Monday. |
There were rotating storms in Vermont that day that had the potential to unleash brief tornadoes, but none are known to have touched down.
Another tornado hit in central Quebec and another struck just south of Quebec City on Monday.
VERMONT FORECAST
Certainly no tornadoes are in the Vermont forecast for the next few days.
There will be heat, lots of humidity and slim chances of needed rain over the next few days. There's potential for a better chance of rain later in the week, but we'll have to wait and see on that.
Showers were trying to skirt far northern Vermont this morning. I've had just sprinkles so far here in St. Albans, Vermont. There might be a few more showers, especially north today, but I don't think it will amount to all that much.
Sunday and Monday will be classic summer days, with many of us around 90 degrees with high humidity. Nights, of course will be stuffy. Only widely scattered showers and storms will pop up in the afternoons and evenings but most of us won't see any activity.
Depending on where a slow moving or stalled weather front sets up in the second half of the week, we have a shot at some decent rains, but a lot can go wrong with that prospect. The front will stall, or nearly stall somewhere. If it stalls over or close to us, we get a jackpot of rain,
But the way our luck is, it's stalled now over southern Quebec, bringing rain there. Then it could zip right through Vermont, giving us little rain, then stall to our south, giving them the precipitation.
I'm totally unsure on that one, but the chances of missing out again seem real to me. Stay tuned!
Video of the Czech tornado. Click on the YouTube logo to make it bigger and easier to see:
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