Photos emerged from Victor Close and Princess Drive, where fire crews have been in attendance throughout Saturday (December 6).
A spokesperson for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said at 12.25pm: “We were called at 6.28am on December 6, to Victor Close in Seaford, to reports of a garage roof and door that had become detached following last night’s high winds.
"Crews are currently in attendance working to make several properties in the area safe which have been impacted by the incident.”
Speculation is growing locally that Seaford may have been hit by a ‘mini tornado’.
Sussex photographer Dan Jessup wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Seaford – fire service incident ongoing / five homes damaged but garage roofs coming off due to strong wind / possible mini tornado due to [it being the] only location [affected].”
On Friday night, multiple fallen trees and impassable roads were reported after torrential rainfall in Sussex. The Met Office had previously advised that heavy rain could result in flooding and disruption.
A Facebook page – named Sussex Weather UK and the South East – provided a thunderstorm watch update at 7.45pm on Friday.
The post, issued by Nick Finnis of Netweather, read: “Hail, gusty winds, torrential rain leading to localised flooding are possible with stronger cells. An isolated tornado can't be ruled out with any thunderstorms towards coastal areas of south England too, where strong buoyancy generated over the English Channel combined with strong low-level shear forecast here could make updrafts rotate.”
Tornadoes do occur in the UK, but they are ‘typically small and short-lived’, the Met Office said.
A spokesperson added: “We see around 30–35 reports a year on average. They can cause some, often minor, structural damaged in built up areas. Due to their small, short lived nature we do not ‘warn’ for tornado’s in the UK as they do in countries like the USA.
“Due to their short-lived nature they can only be assessed by looking at the evidence on the ground or captured via video or photographs.”
Sussex World understands the Tornado & Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) is set to carry out an investigation, to determine what might have happened in the Seaford area.
1. Weather incident
Fire crews were called to a residential area of Seaford, after garage roofs and doors were blown off during the high winds overnight. Photo: Dan Jessup
2. Weather incident
Fire crews were called to a residential area of Seaford, after garage roofs and doors were blown off during the high winds overnight. Photo: Dan Jessup
3. Weather incident
Fire crews were called to a residential area of Seaford, after garage roofs and doors were blown off during the high winds overnight. Photo: Dan Jessup
4. Weather incident
Fire crews were called to a residential area of Seaford, after garage roofs and doors were blown off during the high winds overnight. Photo: Dan Jessup