Tornado hits Maghera
This dramatic picture captures the moment a tornado hit County Derry.
By Connla Young
Miraculously, no one was injured and no property was damaged when the tornado struck near Maghera last week.
Amateur astronomer Martin McKenna managed to take these pictures of the tornado streaking across the sky close to the town on August 2.
Less than 24-hours earlier, the Maghera man captured a rare mesocyclone as it hovered over the town.
And the detailed images Martin managed to grab have sparked major interest in weather watching circles across Ireland and Britain.
Martin says he was alerted to the mesocyclone by his neighbour’s reactions.
A rare sight in Ireland, a metsocyclone can cause severe weather including powerful winds, torrential rain, baseball-sized hail, severe thunderstorms and violent tornadoes.
“I had a feeling something was happening and that feeling was confirmed when I noticed several neighbours across the road with their children looking up at the sky,” said Martin.
