2010 Borley, England Tornado

**2010 Borley, England Tornado**

The ***2010 Borley, England Tornado*** was a destructive and violent, rated F5 tornado that struck Borley, England in the early evening hours of 8 November 2010. In all, 20 deaths occurred, along with 88 injuries, and £100 million (2010 Pound Sterling) in damages.

A high chance of severe weather for the English counties of Essex and Suffolk was noted on the morning of 8 November, as a boundary of cool air collided with a boundary of warm air, giving the chance for tornadoes to be at a significant percentage, with the chance of a violent tornado or two noted. At 2:00 PM BST, the Met Office issued an advisory for high winds in the East of England, with a noted chance of tornadoes within the next couple hours as thunderstorms began to fire up across the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Essex, tracking east at 35 mph.

At 2:45 PM BST, several severe thunderstorms crossed the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Essex. By 3 PM BST, the chance for imminent tornadoes in the area of west Essex and north Essex was noted due to the supercells that developed within these storms. At 3:10 PM ST, the Met Office declared a tornado warning for northeastern Hertfordshire, along with west and northern Essex, and far southern Suffolk. At 3:16 PM BST, a tornado touched down just northeast of Sible Hedingham, south of Castle Hedingham. At first, minor damage occurred. As the tornado tracked east, northeast, F0 to F1 damage occurred to rural areas as small and shallow rooted trees were uprooted. F2 damage occurred to a farm outhouse building just south of Audley End. From here, the tornado began to expand in width, going from a frail, skinny tornado, into a more thick, stovepipe tornado. Audley End avoided a head on impact from the tornado as passed just to the south, causing damage to open field, lofting trees roughly 100 yards into the air. Several cars were struck by the tornado on Sudbury Road in between Belchamp Walter and Bulmer at high-end F2 intensity. One car was thrown on its roof by the tornado, while another car was thrown 100 yards. The sole occupant of the second car was killed, being the first fatality of the tornado. The tornado then further intensified into F4 strength, causing the lofting of trees and ground scouring in farmsteads south of Borley Green. A rural farmstead was destroyed southwest of Borley Green, where 5 people were killed.

F5 damage began to occur as the tornado entered the village of Borley, where a majority of the damage occurred from the tornado. The debarking and denuding of trees in southern Borley was noted, along with severe ground scouring. A farmhouse was also completely swept away just south of Hall Road in Borley, where 3 people were killed. Several more farmsteads were struck at high-end F4 to low-end F5 strength, where 10 more people were killed. The last fatality that the tornado caused was a farmer northeast of the Borley Church, that was lofted in his farm machinery. After exiting Borley, the tornado began to weaken, causing F3 to F4 damage across rural areas. The tornado then exited Essex and entered Suffolk after crossing the River Stour. Along the banks of the river, the tornado began to weaken more. Damage was limited, as only F1 to F2 damage was noted in the areas east of the River Stour along B1064 south of Long Melford. The tornado weakened even further before lifting at 3:48 PM BST between B1064 and A134.

In all, the F5 that struck areas of northern Essex and far western Suffolk caused 20 deaths, along with 88 injuries, and £100 million (2010 Pound Sterling) in damage. The amount of damage and number of deaths and injuries was limited due to the rural track of the tornado. On 8 November, the F5 that impacted Borley and other parts of Eastern England was not only the only violent tornado of the day, it was also the only deadly tornado of that day. On 11 November, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited areas affected by the tornado, stopping in Borley to see the effects of the tornado and to meet with survivors who were staying at the Borley Church.