2005 Birmingham tornado

The 2005 Birmingham tornado was the costliest and one of the strongest tornadoes recorded in Great Britain in nearly 30 years, occurring on 28 July 2005 in the suburbs of Birmingham. It formed on a day when thunderstorms were expected to develop across the Midlands and eastern England. The tornado struck at approximately 14:37 BST in the Sparkbrook area and also affected King's Heath, Moseley and Balsall Heath as it carved a 7 mi long path through the city.

Background
While England has more reported tornadoes, relative to its land area, than any other country, the vast majority are weak. According to the Met Office, around 30 tornadoes hit the UK every year, though most are small and dissipate without causing significant damage.

In Birmingham, a tornado struck the city in 1931, killing one woman and severely damaging several houses. On 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak, two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county.

Effects and damage
The main effects of the July 2005 tornado in Birmingham were felt in the Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook neighbourhoods, which bore the brunt of the damage. On Ladypool Road, several shops had their windows blown out and lost portions of their roofs. Ladypool Primary School was extensively damaged and lost its distinctive Martin & Chamberlain tower. The adjacent St Agatha's Church also suffered some damage. Several rows of homes along Birchwood Road and Alder Road in Balsall Heath had their roofs torn off, and top floor walls torn down. Cars were rolled several meters (yards) down driveways. Along Roshven Road, an end terrace house lost all top floor exterior walls. Christ Church (consecrated in 1867), on the corner of Dolobran Road and Grantham Road in Sparkbrook, was also damaged and has now been demolished.

The Met Office and TORRO (The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation) estimated that the tornado had a general T4 rating on the TORRO scale, with a short spell with T5 damage, which would indicate wind speeds between 137 and 186 mph, equivalent to an F2 tornado on the Fujita scale.

There were no fatalities, although there were approximately 39 injuries, three of which were reported to be serious. The tornado uprooted an estimated 1,100 trees, removed the roofs of buildings, picked up and deposited cars and caused other damage during its short existence. The tornado is the costliest on record in the UK, having caused £40 million of damage, equivalent to £ million in.

Second tornado in October
Three months later, thunderstorms brought a second tornado, which hit less than 1 mi away from the original twister. The Met Office said there were winds of up to 80 mph, equivalent to a T2 on the TORRO scale and an F1 on the Fujita Scale, and it was strong enough to rip the roof off a corner house on Dovey Road in Moseley. Following this came widespread flooding across the region which brought havoc to Birmingham.