Tornado twists through skies of Ballymena

THE skies of Ballymena provided a dramatic backdrop for an extreme weather phenomenon last week.

Those who managed to see a funnel cloud tornado on Tuesday night could have been forgiven for thinking they were in Kansas, not rural Ballymena.

Retired laboratory worker Harold Avery spotted the funnel cloud on Tuesday evening at around 6.15pm.

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Mr Avery said: "There had been heavy thunder clouds earlier in the day. It was still evening and I just happened to be wandering out to the back garden, praying for rain to get some salmon caught.

"A large storm cloud was growing in the sky, to the east of us in Ballymena. I saw a funnel drop from the base of the cloud so ran inside to get my camera.”

Mr Avery nearly missed his chance to capture the image of the weather phenomenon.

“The batteries were flat of course, but by the time they were replaced I still was able to get a couple of photographs. With fumbling about and being so pushed for time I didn’t get the zoom on, but it was an impressive site," he said.

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He added: "The whole episode lasted about two minutes across farmland and hills in the distance, to the east of us. The tornado formed and reformed twice before dissipating in a chaotic swirl. I have seen them before here, but they rarely touch the ground as our storms are not intense enough. This one was not far away from the ground before it ran out of energy.

"We don’t have the right atmosphere intensity for tornados on a scale with say, somewhere, like Oklahoma, but the conditions here were perfect for it on Tuesday. I’m lucky I managed to get photographs."

Though quite frequent along the coastlines of Ireland, many occurrences go unreported, with very few ever captured on camera.

Meanwhile, shoppers and retail employees alike had a shock when the ‘mini tornado’ also materialised in the sky above Antrim’s Junction One shopping outlet centre.

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The funnel cloud was captured on film by local woman Louise when it appeared above rooftops at around 7.40pm on Tuesday evening.

Chatting on a weather internet forum, Louise said: "Finished work and came out the back door to a very dark and menacing cloud base and my first comments were, I think we are in for a treat girls; nothing prepared me for what was lurking around the corner.

"I had a lift home from work, and unfortunately they didn't understand my excitement, so I had to make do with taking pics out the back window of the car

"I think this is a definite funnel cloud, I have a few more pics, all took with my iphone, I was able to track it for at least 15 minutess from leaving work untill I hit the Randalstown roundabout. It was then lost in the trees.

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"This has made me even more determined to fufull my goal of chasing in the States before im 35."

A Met Office forecaster said funnel clouds were not unusual at this time of year but they are not usually seen in densely populated areas.

He added: “Funnel clouds form in areas of deep convection, where there are heavy thunderstorms and showers.

“They aren’t actually that unusual at this time of year but they’re usually seen at sea or in the countryside. It wouldn’t be too often that one would appear at such a populated area as a shopping centre.”

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While he described the funnel cloud as a ‘mini tornado’, the spokesman said the clouds are unable to cause much damage.

“If they ever do reach the ground, you may see a little rubbish swirled up in one – birds have been know to get caught up too," he said.

He added: "When they are at sea they can cause mini-whirlpools but they have a very minor effect.”

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