It may look like an apocalyptic scene from a disaster movie, but these dramatic images are of Suffolk’s stormy skies.
Eagle-eyed chef Phil Hannam was taking a break from the kitchen when he saw what resembled a tornado spiralling over the small village of Thorpeness at around 8.30pm on Saturday and seized the opportunity to capture the biblical scene on camera.
Reinhard Olbrich also took a remarkable picture of the twister from the garden of The Dolphin Inn in the village, which didn’t deter other drinkers who continued to calmly supp their pints.
Tornados are more commonly seen in America and Phil and his colleagues at The Kitchen @ Thorpeness restaurant were stunned to see it circling over the village.
Amy Youngs, manager, said: “It was muggy and stormy yesterday and we had all sorts of weather, but we’ve never seen a tornado over Suffolk before.
“We were stunned when Phil came back and showed us the photo on his mobile phone.”
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which rotates while in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cloud.
They are often referred to as twisters and often travel a few miles before dissipating. The most extreme tornados can attain wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour, but often have wind speeds of less than 110 miles per hour.
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