[retrokitten]

This is a totally dumb question, but do they get many tornadoes in the UK? They have lots of open land, so there would be room. But do the conditions ever get right?

[VOA]

This is a totally dumb question, but do they get many tornadoes
in the UK?

I'm not a meterologist, nor do I play one on TV.
BUT, I grew up in the "ground zero" of "Tornado Alley" (north-central OK).
I do recall that Gary England, the sage forecaster of Channel 9 in
Oklahoma City was called to lecture in England after they had
a ferocious windstorm.
I got the feeling that they had "straight-line winds", not the rotating
beasts we get here in the Plains states.

IIRC, one reason those sort of winds in the UK are so upsetting is
that many large trees grow up big and tall...with very shallow
root systems (lots of moisture, so the roots don't grow deep).
Thus when a strong wind comes through, a LOT of big trees fall,
blocking roads, falling on cars, houses, and I suppose, people.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Found this:

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9106250/tornado

*****************EXCERPT******************

Tornadoes have been reported on all continents except Antarctica. They are most common on continents in the mid-latitudes (between 20° and 60° N and S), where they are frequently associated with thunderstorms that develop in regions where cold polar air meets warm tropical air.

Calculating which country has the most tornadoes per year depends on how this measurement is defined. The United Kingdom has the most tornadoes per land size, most of them weak. On average, about 33 tornadoes are reported annually there. In absolute numbers, the United States has the most tornadoes by far (more than 1,000 per year have been reported every year since 1990). It also has the most violent tornadoes (about 10 to 20 per year). Tornadoes of this intensity are very infrequent outside of the United States. Canada reports the second largest number of tornadoes (about 80 to 100 annually). Russia may have many tornadoes, but reports are not available to quantify their occurrence. About 20 tornadoes are reported in Australia each year, though the actual number is likely much higher. Many storms occur in uninhabited areas, and so any tornadoes that they produce are undocumented.

Records of tornado occurrences are fragmentary for many areas, making estimates of global tornado frequency difficult. Insurance records show that tornadoes have caused significant losses in Europe, India, Japan, South Africa, and Australia. Rare but deadly tornadoes have occurred in many other countries, including Bangladesh, China, and Argentina. There are few tornado reports from either the Arctic or the equatorial tropics.