Video captures tornado striking Pokolbin in NSW Hunter Valley

No it’s not America. This tornado was filmed descending on Pokolbin in the NSW Hunter Valley on Sunday, tearing roofs of sheds and ripping branches from trees.

The aftermath following a tornado which hit Keith Tulloch winery at Pokolbin on Sunday. Photo courtesy of www.emmajanepitschphotography.com.au

SO whose idea was it to play twister in the vineyards on a Sunday afternoon?

Certainly not the staff and visitors at Keith Tulloch Wine in Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley yesterday, who were caught unawares when a tornado descended on the vines about 4.30pm.

Cellar door saleswoman Jackie Goodman said the sun was out and everything appeared normal when the twister touched down and started to wreak havoc.

“We didn’t even see it coming. It was so sunny outside and then a huge dark cloud came over the top with this enormous twister coming out of it down to the ground,” she said.

An image from a video which captured the moment a weak tornado struck a winery in the Hunter Valley.

“It lasted maybe half an hour. There was stuff flying through the air everywhere. It tore down one of our sheds so there were massive bits of roof flying around, there were sheets of metal, there were branches – it was crazy.”

The vineyard lost a shed and about 100 vines, but no-one was injured.

The aftermath following a tornado which hit Keith Tulloch winery at Pokolbin on Sunday. Photo courtesy of www.emmajanepitschphotography.com.au

Metal from a shed roof at Keith Tulloch Wine at Pokolbin in Hunter Valley after a weak tornado ripped through the site on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Keith Tulloch Wine

Weather Watch meteorologist Don White said tornadoes were rare but not unheard of in NSW.

“Just don’t call it a mini-tornado. There’s no such thing as a mini-tornado, except maybe what you get when you stir a cup of tea with a spoon,” he said.

Instead, Mr White described it as a “weak” tornado.

“Tornadoes are rated on a scale of zero to five and this one would barely be a zero,” he said.

“But it still did some damage.”

Pictured is the Keith Tulloch winery at Cessnock which yesterday was severely damaged by a tornado. Photo courtesy of www.emmajanepitschphotography.com.au

He explained that, in very basic terms, tornadoes formed when updrafts and downdrafts from a storm opposed each other to such an extent that they started to rotate.

Yesterday’s was the result of a single severe storm cell passing over Pokolbin, dropping more than 20mm of rain on the area, while the nearby town of Cessnock got just 1mm.