Pretoria North ‘tornado’ confirmed as landspout by weather service

The South African Weather Service (Saws) has conducted a thorough analysis of the destructive ‘tornado’ which struck Pretoria North last week and confirmed it was a landspout.

On Tuesday, 18 February, Tshwane emergency services department teams were deployed to the Montana suburb in Pretoria North, where several buildings, vehicles and other properties were damaged by what was believed to be a tornado.

Saws, however, confirmed on Friday that following an analysis, including visits to the site and a study of high-resolution images of the event, it concluded that the weather event was in fact a landspout rather than a tornado.

Landspout hit Montana, not tornado

“A landspout develops over land is generally smaller and weaker. A tornado, on the other hand, is a violent rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm and measures less than a hundred metres in diameter,” the weather service said in a statement on Friday.

Saws said tornadoes and landspouts have a similar appearance, but their development mechanisms and strengths differ. It is for this reason that the weather service conducted an analysis across Montana.

It confirmed that the landspout developed shortly before 5pm and affected a short stretch of the busy Sefako Makgatho Drive.

ALSO READ: PICTURES: Tornado wrecks Pretoria suburb

“From there, it uprooted trees and remained on the side of the main road. Eyewitnesses estimate that this landspout took less than five minutes before lifting and disappearing,” Saws said.

“The trace of its weakened phase was noted towards Zambesi, where only tree branches were broken off with a zig-zagging motion to the right side and back to the left of the main.”

The weather service reported that a carport awning and additional roof sheeting broke, twisted and lifted into the air.

Miraculous that no one died or was injured – Saws

According to Saws, it is miraculous that no deaths or injuries have been reported to date.

On the day of the incident, the Tshwane the emergency services department said when they arrived at the scene, the corrugated iron roof sheets of the buildings, carports and other structures along the road were blown away by a storm, which also uprooted a few trees.

The residential complex on Veda Street close to Enkeldoorn Street was severely damaged, with multiple buildings sustaining significant damage, particularly on the upper floors and roofs where the strong wind knocked down external geysers and corrugated iron roof sheets, leaving the unit structures vulnerable to the rain.

ALSO READ: ‘My ceiling is on my floor’: Pretoria residents tell of destruction caused by a tornado

The residential apartments’ upper floors also had water damage as a result of rainwater seeping through. Authorities evacuated the residents and temporarily housed them in nearby units.