Storm Doris Brings Destruction To Chiswick

Some of the strongest gusts recorded in London led to several trees blown down

Car smashed by tree on Staveley Road. Picture: MPS Hounslow

Storm Doris brought destruction to Chiswick, with at least half a dozen trees falling, including one near the gates of Chiswick School. The Grove Park area appeared to suffer the worst impact of some of the strongest gusts recorded in London, , with another tree crashing onto a parked car at Park Road, and the high winds toppling a wall in Chiswick House Gardens, which was closed to the public.

A tree also fell in Hartswood Road, and a large crater was created in the pavement in Duke Road after a tree fell on two houses. There were no injuries reported.

Chiswick appeared to have suffered more trees down than many other areas of London, leading people to speculate that perhaps W4 was in the path of the storm as it wound its way eastwards.

The Met Office told chiswickw4.com that the area had indeed seen some of the highest gusts of wind recorded in London -gusts of 58 and 59 mph were recorded nearby- the highest in the London area was 60 mph recorded at Northolt. Though this does not compare with the strongest wind speed of 94 mph recorded in north Wales, it is amongst the highest recorded in London.

Storm Doris was described by the Met Office as a 'weather bomb', in a situation called explosive cyclogenesis, dry air from the stratosphere flows into an area of low pressure. This causes air within the depression to rise very quickly and increases its rotation, which in turn deepens the pressure and creates a more vigorous storm.

"Very high gusts were recorded at Heathrow and at Kew Gardens, as the storm travelled from west to east, certainly the wind speed would have been amongst the highest in London" said a Met Office spokesperson.

Locals said it was a miracle nobody was either driving or walking near Chiswick School when the large London Plane tree crashed onto two parked cars.

"Anyone driving by or walking into the school would have been killed. The tree fell right across the road," he said. It is believed the tree fell shortly after 10 am

Image- FP K

Police sealed off the road at both ends and diverted traffic and the E3 bus. A team from Hounslow Highways arrived shortly after the incident with chainsaws to clear the blocked road.

London Fire Brigade said they were called to deal with a tree that had fallen on two houses on Duke Road. They were called at 8.55am and found that the tree had created a four foot by three foot crater on the pavement.The fire brigade made sure the area was safe until the local authority dealt with the situation. No injuries were reported. A local resident said the tree had been previously reported as dead to Hounslow Highways.

A tree fell on houses on Duke Road. Picture: Gail Busza

Uprooted tree on Duke Road. Picture: Gail Busza

Car crushed by tree on Hartswood Road. Picture: Rose Laird

A tree fell down in the afternoon on Park Road. Picture: Judi Tweedie

A van is crushed on Park Road. Picture: Wim Hulme

Large branch falls on car in Queen Anne's Gardens, Bedford Park. Picture: Morris-Wyatt

Another tree is reported to have fallen down on Cranbrook Road.

London Overground services at Gunnersbury are also affected, There were also delays on the London Overground caused by a signal failure which meant there was no service between South Acton and Richmond, and severe delays between Stratford and South Acton/Clapham.

We will update with more details as they come in. Please send any pictures of storm damage to editor@chiswickw4.com.

February 24, 2017