A tornado warning has been issued across the South of England as Storm Ciarán approaches.

The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) has warned of one or two tornadoes hitting the UK in the coming hours.

It said they could hit from 6pm Wednesday evening until 8am Thursday morning.

A spokeswoman said: “A very deep Atlantic low, named Storm Ciarán by the UK Met Office, will cross southern parts of the UK later tonight and on Thursday.

Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard: Where the tornado warning coversWhere the tornado warning covers (Image: TORRO)

“Very strong winds will affect parts of the south of the UK, along with the Channel Islands. These strong 'gradient winds' are handled by warnings from the Met Office and the Channel Islands Met Service.

“The highest risk of one or two tornadoes would likely be along and south of a line from South Wales to London, but the risk cannot be ruled out a bit further north too, hence the watch box extending into the Midlands and East Anglia.”

Last Saturday, October 28, a tornado ripped the roof off a house in Littlehampton.

The Met Office issued an amber weather warning for wind from 6am until 5pm tomorrow. This means travel, utilities and structures could be damaged.

The forecast from Windfinder said Brighton could see wind speeds up to 53mph which is classed as a strong gale on the Beaufort wind scale.

There could be gusts of up to 80mph and heavy downpours tomorrow.

Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard: The sea conditions in Brighton todayThe sea conditions in Brighton today (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Train operators have urged passengers to work from home if they can due to the possibility of disruption or cancellation of services.

Speed restrictions will also be in place, which will cause delays to services.

A spokesman for Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services, said: “Storm Ciaran is expected to cause significant disruption to services across the South East on Thursday, with a risk of disruption into Friday too.

“At this point, there is still some uncertainty about the impact. 

“However, Network Rail is planning for speed restrictions to be in place across the network, which will cause delays and lead to changes to the train service."

Brighton and Hove Buses said it plans to run a normal service tomorrow.