Tornado just barely makes landfall above Welle, science expert Martijn Peters explains: “This can certainly cause damage” | Denderleeuw

It was around 7 p.m. that storm clouds again formed over the municipality. A dark cloud gathered in such a way that it looked for a moment as if a tornado was forming. The weather phenomenon eventually lasted for several minutes, but the cloud never touched the ground. “The wind came up strongly, but after a few seconds the worst was over. The incipient tornado ultimately did not cause any damage,” said a resident who was able to take a photo. Another resident also saw how the tornado developed. “It was impressive, but also a bit scary.”

According to science expert Martijn Peters of VTM news, it is certainly possible that a tornado could form in our country. “We have about three to five tornadoes a year in Belgium, but the big difference is that they are not nearly as strong as in the United States,” says Martijn. He has also looked at the photos and suspects that this may indeed be a supercell, a very heavy thunderstorm, with a cloud wall. “A tornado could result from that, but it didn’t happen here. There must really be a connection between the cloud and the ground to be able to speak of a full-fledged tornado. It is also difficult to see in the photo about the cloud rotating, that is only possible via video images. If a tornado had really touched down, it could certainly have caused some damage in the local area,” he concludes.

Also watch: Suspected tornado wreaks havoc in Walloon villages