Weatherman predicts tornado in 2025

Graham Loveluck-Edwards

I am sure many readers will recognise Chris Jones from his picture. Maybe for his charity work. Maybe for his walks along the Wales Coast Path.

Most likely though, it’s because he was the face of the S4C weather forecast for the best part of 30 years.

Something you might find surprising, is that in all those thousands of broadcasts Chris was holding something back. Behind the smiles as he talked about “scattered showers moving in from the west” or “temperatures milder than the average for this time of year” he was hiding a passion for something altogether more extreme.

Chris loves tornados. Ever since he first started doing the weather on S4C he has been harbouring a dream to experience one close up, and this year he is finally going to do it.

Fascination

“I have always been fascinated by tornados” Chris told me. “The power of the things and the destruction they cause. I know it might sound a bit morbid, but it has always intrigued me.”

You may think that we never get tornados in this country. How wrong could you be? According to an organisation called TORRO (the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation) there were 36 tornados in the UK last year.

Granted most were quite small but 36 is still quite a lot more than I was expecting. And as rare as they might be, we do sometimes get big ones.

“I remember reading a historical account of a devastating tornado that swept through Edwardsville near Merthyr Tydfil in 1913,” Chris recollects.

“It was a Force 6 which is incredibly rare in the UK. It absolutely flattened several buildings including people’s houses and shops. Even a chapel.

“A hayrick weighing several tons was carried over a mile by the strength of it. There were even human fatalities. As unlikely as it might seem, one of the casualties was a man who was very famous in his day called Francis Owen Woolford.

“He was like the Gareth Bale of the early 20^th Century. A Welsh wizard on the football field. He had previously played at the highest level but was seeing out the later part of his football career at Ton Pentre Football Club.”

Storm chasing

Reports from the time say that Mr Woolford was physically lifted off the ground by the strength of the tornado and flung against a wall and died of his injuries.

That sounds terrifying to me. Something it would be better to avoid at all costs. It makes you wonder why Chris would want to experience something so perilous. Particularly as he assures me his is not by nature an adrenalin junky.

He is not tempted to sky dive or swim with sharks. He is uniquely drawn to this one thing. And as this year marks his 60^th birthday he has decided “it is now or never”.

So, to heighten his chances of experiencing a tornado in the flesh, he has signed up to a company in America called “Tempest Tours” who are based in Arlington, Texas. They offer what they describe as a “storm chasing expedition and vacation”.

In April this year, Chris will be flying out to Oklahoma City where a team of professionals will teach him and his fellow “chasers” about tornados and storm cells and no doubt, all the safety drills associated with their activity.

Then once a tornado is sited, they will be flown out to it and given a chance to observe it from as close as it is safely possible to do so.

Tornados are most frequent and most powerful in the central and eastern regions of the United States. An area known as “Tornado Valley”.

It includes places such as Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas and Kansas and of course it was a siting in Kansas that was the inspiration for the epic film “Wizard of Oz”.

I only hope when he gets to experience the full force of the tornado for real, Chris doesn’t find himself repeating “there’s no place like home” over and over again and wishing he were back amongst the moderate breezes and squally showers of Wales.

Learn more about Graham Loveluck-Edwards, his books, his talks and his walks at www.grahamloveluckedwards.com or find him on YouTube or Facebook.