Tornado tears roofs off homes in Eferding

A tornado tore roofs from homes in a residential neighbourhood in Eferding on Monday evening, ORF reported. Most parts of Upper Austria escaped serious damage, but three storm cells converged over Eferding, according to weather experts at GeoSphere Austria.

The severe storm lasted only two to three minutes. Resident Christoph Arzt said the strong winds rose within seconds. “We have never had storms like this here. Within a very short time, the neighbour’s roof was torn away.” Debris from the roof was scattered throughout the neighbourhood.

GeoSphere Austria weather expert Josef Haslhofer said the three storm cells had probably moved into Upper Austria from the west before releasing their full force over Eferding.

The sudden and highly localised strong gusts were typical of a tornado, Haslhofer said. He defined a tornado as locally very strong winds that cause extensive damage within a narrowly confined area. In Eferding, the damage was limited to a small residential neighbourhood.

Tornadoes are generally rare in Austria, occurring only once every few years at most, Haslhofer said. A powerful tornado can destroy entire villages and lift lorries from roads, but that did not happen in Eferding.