‘No time to react’: mini-tornado damages homes in Gironde, west France

A violent ‘mini-tornado’ hit the west of France on Saturday (January 31), damaging around 300 homes in the Gironde department. The phenomenon struck the town of Mios at 12:05, near the Arcachon basin, ripping off roofs, collapsing walls and uprooting trees as it coursed through several neighbourhoods for around 15 minutes. 

“It was five minutes of noise everywhere - we didn’t have time to react,” a couple told news outlet France 3, after their garden was damaged by a toppled tree.

“It swept everything away,” another resident told RTL. “We saw rubbish bins flying through the air, our neighbours' gate flew away, two trampolines, the roof... everything was gone,”

“I didn't expect this to happen here near the bay in Mios.”

Three neighbourhoods on a strip three kilometres long and about 400 metres wide were impacted, said fire service spokesman Captain Nicolas Braz. However, despite the scale of material damage, no injuries have been reported.

Around 150 firefighters were mobilised to secure damaged buildings, clear fallen trees and assess risks to the public. 

Several roads were also blocked by debris and fallen trees, including parts of the A63 motorway.

The winds were linked to a storm cell that crossed the Arcachon basin before moving south-east across the department. 

Météo-France forecaster Philippe Caron, told French media that winds within the storm were “very strong and localised”.

“We suspect a swirling phenomenon, of the mini-tornado type, which is impossible to predict,” he said, adding that such events can develop rapidly within otherwise ordinary winter storms.

The town hall opened a municipal hall to accommodate residents whose homes were temporarily uninhabitable. 

By Saturday evening, several families had requested emergency accommodation, according to local officials.

Tornadoes in France

France currently has an estimated 50 tornadoes every year, mainly in spring and summer, and mostly in the north-west and the Mediterranean coastal area

They form when warm, humid air collides with cold, dry air. This creates a column of rotating air - and often a storm at ground level - which can vary significantly in speed and intensity.

Meteorologists distinguish between true tornadoes, involving rotating upward air currents, and other violent wind phenomena such as microbursts or gust fronts, which involve powerful downward currents spreading out at ground level.

While the term ‘mini-tornado’ is commonly used in media coverage, Météo-France notes that it is not an official meteorological classification. 

Further analysis is required to determine the nature of the weather phenomenon that hit Mios.