Scientists find UK tornadoes are most likely to occur west of London

Study of UK weather from 1980 to 2012 pinpoints location between London and Berkshire as hotspot for weather phenomenon

An area between London and Reading in Berkshire is the most likely part of Britain to be hit by a tornado, according to a team from the University of Manchester. Using witness reports of UK twisters over a 32-year period, the scientists found the area most likely to be struck was west and south-west of London, which had a "6% chance per year of a tornado occurring within 10km of a given location". But they also described this as a "one in 17-year event".

The UK experiences on average 34 tornadoes a year, the most per area of land mass in the world, the scientists said. The strongest seen were categorised as F2 on the Fujita scale used to assess their power, with winds of up to 157mph, compared with the F5 storms seen in the US, where winds can exceed 300mph.