Times Of Swaziland: IT WAS A TORNADO - EXPERTS IT WAS A TORNADO - EXPERTS ================================================================================ BY JOSEPH ZULU on 06/12/2018 05:23:00 PIGG’S PEAK – A storm which swept through some parts of the country leaving extensive damage was in fact a tornado, South African weather experts say. The storm lasted for a few minutes but by the time it was over, damage worth millions of Emalangeni had been done. According to weather forecast expert Luiz Fernadez, the storm which swept through the country was a tornado. Fernandez, who was speaking on the South African eNCA TV Channel said the ‘dark cloud’ which was observed by many emaswati was actually as a result of spinning, synonymous with tornadoes. He also said looking at the damage left in some areas, this was similar to catastrophes caused by tornadoes. Fernandez particularly made note of the damage left at one of the forests under Montigny, which he said resembled effects of a tornado.He said the trees appeared to have been uprooted in a circular motion just like tornadoes normally do. Meanwhile, Eric Seyama, the Chief Weather Forecaster at the Eswatini Meteorological Services Department (EMSD), said he concurred with the SA weather experts. Seyama said this was because Eswatini was situated in an area which was also likely to experience tornadoes. He said though he could not recall a specific time when the country was hit by a tornado, it was very possible that the latest storm was in fact a tornado. Winds Seyama also revealed that winds similar to tornados were locally referred to as ‘ganda ganda’. He also said he had observed a video taken during the latest storm and that it appeared to have the characteristics of a tornado. When asked if a similar storm was likely to be experienced in the near future, Seyama did not rule out the possibility, adding that there were impending thunderstorms with very similar characteristics.