A freak tornado ripped through Hamilton leaving the Magistrates' Court with a partially caved in roof and telephone poles lying on the ground on Saturday afternoon.

A severe thunderstorm caused the tornado to tear through Reid Street and parts of Pembroke and Devonshire with winds gusts of 45 knots leaving large branches and foliage in the streets.

According to Nicole Hannon, Meteorological Forecaster for Bermuda Weather Service, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued at 2.30 p.m. on Saturday, over an hour before the first tornado was reported at 3.45 p.m.

Ms Hannon said tornadoes rip through Bermuda a few times a year and tend to happen in strong thunderstorms, as with yesterday's cold front, as well as in hurricanes.

"A damage survey has been done by the director and deputy director of the Bermuda Weather Service and will be compiled into a full report today by the deputy director, Kimberley Zuill. Preliminary inspection of roof damage along Pitts Bay Road show some indication of rotation. Further detail of all damage done will be in the forthcoming report", she added.

As for the rainfall, 0.99 inches of precipitation was recorded at the airport and the lowest temperature was 59.9F.

Forster Darling's 200-year-old Pitt's Bay Road home now has a gaping hole in the roof because of the tornado.

While he wasn't home during the storm, he is now trying the get the damage repaired as soon as possible.

"It was definitely a tornado that come through here. The weather people came to look at the debris to see which way the tornado went. They're pretty confident that it was a tornado."

He continued: "We haven't been able to fully assess the damage. I don't think there's any chance we'll get it fixed before Christmas. The damage is not just slate. One of the main support beams had snapped and there's a lot of water damage. it's more than just putting a patch on."

Mr. Darling said he hopes there isn't any rain this week so that no more water gets into the house causing more damage.

Royal Gazette photographer Mark Tatem was in Hamilton during the storm. He said: "I was at Brown and Co. picking up some Christmas gifts and we were just about to walk out the door and then the wind just picked up something serious and the doors were rattling. Across the road we saw the inflatable Santa on Phoenix's roof was shaking and took off down the street. Then it just calmed right down except for the fact that there were branches all over the road."

Ed Benevides, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary to The Corporation of Hamilton said: "The damage that was done was cleared up by The Corporation of Hamilton work crews and the city returned to normal within a few hours after the tornado touched down. The lights at Spurling Hill were affected and as soon as it stopped raining we were able to repair them."

In Devonshire, Nicholas Comber said the Devonshire Bay area suffered some damage with branches being knocked down as well as telephone poles.

"Our driveway was blocked by big heavy branches that flew through the air in one case about 40 feet. The utility pole is now leaning with all the wires drooping somewhat dangerously low across the roadway leading to the house. We had around 100 palm leaves scattered across the lawn too.

"From my observations, it did not have the characteristics of a tornado. It seemed more like a very sharp gust of wind coming from one direction, as all damage is from one way. It all happened very fast, all within 30 seconds I think."

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