TORRO damage Site Investigation Following the Jersey Tornado of 1 – 2 November 2023 during Storm Ciarán

Oral Presentation 

On 1–2 November 2023 Storm Ciarán impacted northwest Europe causing widespread wind damage as well as significant flooding. In addition to this wider storm damage, a strong tornado impacted parts of Jersey in the Channel Islands at around midnight on 2 November. This tornado reached an estimated intensity of T6, implying wind speeds in the range 73 – 83 m s-1. It had a maximum width of around 550 m and created an 8 km long damage track across the eastern side of the island from St Clement to Fliquet. 

Shortly after the event, an in-person site investigation of the damage was undertaken by the author on behalf of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO). This was supplemented by analysis of drone footage and supported by Jersey Met and members of the public. 

In this presentation, the findings of the site investigation will be summarised, including maps of the damage track and photographs and discussion of some of the most severe instances of damage. The tornado will be set in context of the British Isles tornado climatology using data from the TORRO tornado database.