Post by Madhatter on Aug 18, 2006 18:27:35 GMT
More lightning, thunder and rain. It's more like autumn than summer, the leaves are turning brown gold and yellow, it's cold, it's wet it's misserable and there's more to come 
Tornado's have been spotted near Leamington and warwick and the county has seen localised flooding.
It's not just local though...
In Herefordshire 12 homes were struck by lightning and a strike in Shropshire has wiped a council helpline.
In Sandbach in south Cheshire, four people had to be rescued from a single decker bus stuck in floodwater.
The storms have swept through the region in the past two days and forecasts have warned of more heavy rainfall and localised thunderstorms on Saturday.
The first of two tornadoes was spotted near Leamington Spa and Warwick during Thursday's evening rush hour.
Tornado (pic: Nicky Stalker)
A tornado was seen near Leamington on Thursday (pic: Nicky Stalker)
A second tornado was then seen darkening the skies over Warwick on Friday afternoon as thunderstorms again hit the Midlands.
Derek Chadwick, 60, watched from the car park of his offices in Warwick at about 1515 BST.
He said: "It was clear but as it touched down it turned very dark. It seemed to be picking up stuff from below.
"There was quite a lot of speed and it was probably within a mile or so of us."
In nearby Coventry a number of street suffered flash flooding and a supermarket car park was closed after a sewer burst.
Water firm's leak
On Thursday, Telford and Wrekin Council's environmental services went down after a power surge caused by a lightning strike.
Anyone who phoned the line between 0800 and 1700 on Thursday has been asked to call again.
And the downpours have also caused havoc at the region's water supplier, after a leak damaged IT systems.
It means some non-emergency calls are not being answered at Severn Trent Water, although the firm stressed all emergency calls were being dealt with.
A spokesman said "The company is still in a position to supply water and remove and treat waste water satisfactorily."
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/5264800.stm
Tornado's have been spotted near Leamington and warwick and the county has seen localised flooding.
It's not just local though...
In Herefordshire 12 homes were struck by lightning and a strike in Shropshire has wiped a council helpline.
In Sandbach in south Cheshire, four people had to be rescued from a single decker bus stuck in floodwater.
The storms have swept through the region in the past two days and forecasts have warned of more heavy rainfall and localised thunderstorms on Saturday.
The first of two tornadoes was spotted near Leamington Spa and Warwick during Thursday's evening rush hour.
Tornado (pic: Nicky Stalker)
A tornado was seen near Leamington on Thursday (pic: Nicky Stalker)
A second tornado was then seen darkening the skies over Warwick on Friday afternoon as thunderstorms again hit the Midlands.
Derek Chadwick, 60, watched from the car park of his offices in Warwick at about 1515 BST.
He said: "It was clear but as it touched down it turned very dark. It seemed to be picking up stuff from below.
"There was quite a lot of speed and it was probably within a mile or so of us."
In nearby Coventry a number of street suffered flash flooding and a supermarket car park was closed after a sewer burst.
Water firm's leak
On Thursday, Telford and Wrekin Council's environmental services went down after a power surge caused by a lightning strike.
Anyone who phoned the line between 0800 and 1700 on Thursday has been asked to call again.
And the downpours have also caused havoc at the region's water supplier, after a leak damaged IT systems.
It means some non-emergency calls are not being answered at Severn Trent Water, although the firm stressed all emergency calls were being dealt with.
A spokesman said "The company is still in a position to supply water and remove and treat waste water satisfactorily."
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/5264800.stm
