Tornado at Banagher, Co Galway, 2 Oct 2013

[Simon Culling]

Tornado reported at Baanagher, Co Galway in Eire yesterday evening at approx. 18:30. Not much news yet as it would have been dark soon after then, but the local electricity company (ESB) reported some building and power line damage and had roughly 700 customers without power.

http://www.thejournal.ie/tornado-clonfe ... =shortlink

Good video on facebook which clearly shows a wedge and rotation. Be advised there is some bad language from the middle of this video.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=66 ... =2&theater

[NZstorm]

Thanks for the report Simon.

Low topped supercell event not unlike what we get in NZ. Interesting stuff.

[Simon Culling]

Steven, the synoptic situation suggests that the cell formed on a trough that was moving NE over Eire behind an occluded front that had crossed the country earlier and was on the east coast at the time of the tornado (approx. 18:30 local time). The radar shows a bit of a hook over the area concerned and your suggestion of a low topped supercell is certainly possible.

Pictures and reports seen today suggest T2-3, which is EF1 on the revised Fujita scale. This part of Eire is mostly farmland and is sparsely populated, so there is not much for a tornado to hit.

[NZstorm]

This was a good example of a cool season supercell tornado. I notice there was a jet streak associated with the trough with the exit region over Ireland.