Amidst Storm Ciarán: Strongest tornado in the UK since 1954

A rare tornado that hit the island of Jersey in the U.K. on November 1st has been confirmed as the strongest in almost 70 years.

Storm Ciarán brought devastating winds and heavy rain to much of the U.K. and Ireland from November 1st - 2nd, 2023. On the night of the 1st, a severe thunderstorm developed, which reportedly produced a strong tornado on the eastern part of the island of Jersey.

A site investigation by The Tornado and Storm Research Organization (TORRO), supported by Jersey Met, confirmed that an intense tornado did indeed touch down at around midnight local time, tracking almost a distance of 5 miles and leaving a path of severe damage in its wake.

TORRO suggest that the intensity of the tornado lands at around T6, which is between an EF3 to EF4 and had winds of 161 - 186 mph, stronger than the Birmingham tornado in 2005, placing it as the strongest tornado on record since the Gunnersbury tornado of 1954, which was rated at a T7 or an EF4.

Generally, EF3 and EF4 tornadoes in the U.K. and Ireland, known as moderately-devastating tornadoes, are pretty rare.

Tornadoes as a whole however, tend to happen more often than you may think in the U.K. and Ireland with, on average, 36 a year reported. However most are small, with only minor damage.