London tornado of 1091

The London Tornado of 1091 is the earliest reported tornado in England, occurring in London on Friday, 17 October 1091.[1][2] It has been reckoned by modern assessment as possibly a T8 on the TORRO scale (roughly equivalent to an F4 on the Fujita scale) making it potentially the strongest recorded tornado in the British Isles,[3] although this estimate is based on reports written 30 years after the tornado.[4] The church of St Mary-le-Bow in the city of London was badly damaged; four rafters 26 feet (7.9 m) long were driven into the ground so that only 4 feet (1.2 m) protruded above the surface.[4] Other churches in the area were demolished, as were over 600 (mostly wooden) houses. For all the damage inflicted, the tornado claimed just two known victims from a population of about 18,000.[4][3][5] The tornado is mentioned in chronicles by Florence of Worcester and William of Malmesbury, the latter describing it as "a great spectacle for those watching from afar, but a terrifying experience for those standing near".[3]

London tornado of 1091
F4 tornado
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Fatalities2
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

See also

References
  1. Rowe, M. W. (1976). "Tornadoes in medieval Britain" (PDF). Journal of Meteorology. 1 (7): 219–222. ISSN 1748-2992.
  2. "Tornado Country – NOVA – PBS". www.pbs.org.
  3. Rowe, Michael (November 1999). "'Work of the devil': Tornadoes in the British Isles to 1660" (PDF). Journal of Meteorology. 24 (243): 326–338. ISSN 1748-2992. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  4. "British & European Extremes". The Tornado & Storm Research Organisation (TORRO). Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  5. Schofield, John; Vince, Alan (2003). Medieval Towns: The Archaeology of British Towns in Their European Setting. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8264-6002-8.
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