South Dublin residents avoided a tornado last month

People living in a swathe of south Dublin may have had a lucky escape after Met Éireann confirmed a tornado tore through an area of at least a mile last month.

So strong was the tornado that John Tyrrell, a tornado expert studying the impact of the event that took place at 6am on Oct 17 last, said people’s lives could have been at risk if it occurred at a different time of the day.

Large trees were uprooted and metal sheets torn off garden roofs as the tornado travelled in a northerly direction from Crumlin past Inchicore, Kilmainham and near the South Circular Rd before dissipating in a section of the Phoenix Park.

Dr Tyrrell of UCC’s geography department said if it had taken place at a different stage of the day, lives could have been at risk.

“The winds were in excess of in the order of 85mph to 90mph. So you had sustained winds within the rotating vortex at that sort of speed, carrying debris, you have projectiles whizzing around at those speeds — you are in a very dangerous environment. If people are around, unless they take cover, it’s a very dangerous situation.”

It appears no one saw the tornado, although some people say they heard it.