Shocking moment huge tornado and torrents of hail hit Qatar as England train for World Cup quarter-final against France
A HUGE tornado has struck Qatar, with dramatic footage showing the black spiral-shaped storm clouds touching down in the desert country.
The World Cup host has also been hit with torrential rain for the first time since the tournament kicked off last month.
It touched down in Ras Laffan Industrial City, around 50 miles north of the Qatari capital Doha.
Qatar’s Meteorology Department shared footage of downpours and powerful hailstorms in the city.
Roads in Ras Laffan have even been flooded due to the sudden and highly-unusual deluge.
Ras Laffan is less than half an hour’s drive from Al Khor stadium, the most northern of the World Cup venues.
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A Twitter user in the Gulf state shared a photo of an enormous pile of hailstones which reportedly crashed to earth on Wednesday.
Qatar’s average annual rainfall is just 75mm a year, compared to between 800 and 1,400mm in the UK.
The average monthly rainfall is just 5.9mm, and during the dry season between June and October, rain is almost unheard of.
Hail is even more unusual, as temperatures in the Middle-Eastern nation rarely ever drop below 13C even at night during the coolest month of January.
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Tornadoes are also extremely rare in Qatar, which, according to the World Risk Index, has the lowest threat level from natural disasters of any country on earth.
The index, developed by the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security, calculates vulnerability to a range of natural hazards including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, floods, droughts, and sea level rise.
Today is the first day off from football in almost three weeks, with the first of four quarter-final ties kicking off on Friday.
England‘s players and coaching staff are training in preparation for Saturday’s hotly-anticipated clash with France.