From Caribbean News Service

NASSAU, Bahamas, Mar 15 2017 – A totnado touched down at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) early Tuesday morning causing significant damage to a Bahamasair plane and minor damage to several cars at a nearby car rental agency.

According to Basil Dean, deputy director at the Department of Meteorology, the tornado formed from an isolated cumulonimbus cloud in the vicinity of LPIA around 5am on Tuesday.

Mr Dean said prefrontal showers and thunderstorms moved across the Northwest Bahamas during the early morning hours of Tuesday resulting in light rains and strong gusty winds at LPIA.

When asked why the MET Office did not send a severe weather warning prior to the storm, Mr Dean said the tornado formed “rather quickly” and was not detectable before hand.

The strong winds, according to Bahamasair Chairman Valentine Grimes, knocked a $20 million ATR 70-seater plane off its landing gears and caused the plane to nose dive into the ground. He said Bahamasair contacted the manufacturer, adding that technicians and engineers are on their way to the Bahamas to assess the damage.