Did a tornado really hit Nottingham this morning?

Parts of Nottingham have been impacted by severe winds this morning (Monday, April 15) - but was it really the work of a tornado? 

Photos on social media show a scene of devastation in West Bridgford following this morning’s high winds, with trees uprooted and tiles ripped from roofs. 

At 8.20am, Nottingham City Transport (NCT) said that its Green Five route was unable to serve Melton Road or Melton Gardens due to fallen trees. 

Then, at 10.13am, NCT updated users that Sunninghill Drive in Clifton was impassable due to another fallen tree. 

Other photos show houses in Malvern Road and Selby Road missing roof tiles or with damaged television aerials. 

A Met Office warning for strong winds is in place for Nottingham until 10pm tonight, with the forecaster warning of possible power outages. 

As strong as the winds that hit Nottingham this morning were, could they actually be classed as a tornado?

The Met Office defines a tornado as “a rapidly rotating column of air that reaches between the base of a storm cloud and the Earth's surface”, which “form in very unsettled weather conditions as part of severe thunderstorms”. 

The UK is hit by around 30 tornadoes each year, according to the forecaster. 

Rob Rose, a weather presenter for BBC East Midlands, cast doubt on claims that this morning’s severe weather in Nottingham and West Bridgford were caused by a tornado in the area. 

On X, he said: “No evidence of a ‘tornado’ in Nottingham, but we did have a Squall - which is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes.”