'Mini tornado' spotted in Hastings

Richard Powell captured this image of the phenomenon at around 3pm at White Rock near the junction with Claremont as the town endured heavy rain and high winds.

Hastings and the rest of Sussex has been hit by torrential rain and stormy weather this week following the recent heatwave earlier this month.

On Sunday night (September 17), the county was hit by stormy weather, with damage to property caused in parts of Sussex.

A ‘mini tornado’ is properly called a funnel cloud.

The Met Office said they are formed when a rotating column of wind draws in cloud droplets, making a region of intense low pressure visible.

“They are formed in the same way as a tornado building around this localised area of intensely low pressure,” the Met Office said.

They occur in periods of heavy rain, hail, thunder and lightning.

The Met Office has also issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain for Hastings and the rest of Sussex from 4pm today (Wednesday, September 20) to 3am tomorrow (Thursday, September 21).

It said some interruption to power supplies and other services is possible and that there is a small chance of flooding to a few homes and businesses.

There may also be flooding on roads, the Met Office added.