Freak mini tornado hits small village leaving gaping holes in roof

Stormy conditions set in on an otherwise bright and calm Tuesday afternoon in Wyken as local residents reported a bizarre five-minute incident

Unusual weather left gaping holes in the roof of a house after an unexpected “tornado,” local residents say.

Stormy conditions made their way into Wyken on an otherwise bright and calm Tuesday afternoon.

Paula Tutchener was outside when it happened and said laundry on her line became tangled and trees rattled during a bizarre five-minute interlude.

she said CoventryLive Her family told her she was “cuckoo drinking” until she realized the incident had caused damage to houses on the street.

Paula explained what had happened: “I was in my house looking out the window and it was quiet as you would like. I went out to get a cigarette and there was this wind.

“I had laundry on the line and it was spinning and tangling and the trees were going crazy. It was madness.

“I went in and didn’t think much about it, then later I said to my husband and son, ‘I think we had a tornado today.’ They just looked at each other and laughed and told me I was playing cuckoo.

“Then my neighbor told me her roof tiles were missing. I went into our garden and our roof had loose tiles but my neighbor had gaping holes in hers. Another neighbor said her blinds were starting to go crazy.

“My house is clean, but when I went upstairs, dust had come loose from the top of the closet. My house is never dirty so it didn’t make sense? I wasn’t upstairs so I don’t know how that happened.

“It was so bizarre, madness. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing because everywhere else was so quiet. It lasted about five minutes, then everything went quiet again. But my husband and son thought I was crazy laundry dried fast!”

Cornwall Live spoke to local weather enthusiast and expert Steve Jackson of Bablake Weather Station, who said he was unaware of such an incident but said what has been described is usually known as a light tornado.