A small tornado raced through the west Sussex town of Selsey during the night, affecting up to 1,000 homes and causing an estimated £10 million damage, while across the Channel another whirlwind hit six French coastal towns.
Five people were injured in France when gusts of more than 160 kph swept the north coast.
In England, emergency services said it was miraculous that just one person was hurt as the midnight tornado littered Selsey with roof tiles and debris. Hundreds of people were later evacuated from their homes in the town, which sits on a headland about 95 km southwest of London.
"A sort of mini-tornado . . . cut straight across Selsey going west to east, causing severe damage to properties and trees," a fire brigade spokesman said.
Gale force winds ripped chimneys and roof tiles from many houses and wrecked garages and other weak buildings.
"Thankfully, perhaps even miraculously, we've only had sketchy details of one person injured," the fire brigade spokesman said.
French officials said 230 homes were damaged in the six towns hit by the tornado.
"Windows were blown right off their houses. Winds in some places were stronger than 250 kph," said meteorologist Mr Patrick Marliere, referring to the storm as a mini-tornado.
"This was a weather phenomenon that was difficult to predict. A mass of unstable air led to wind patterns that set off a whirlwind," he said.
"We heard an incredible noise. I thought it was a bomb, but when I saw that my mobile home had moved several metres, I figured out what had happened," said a woman in the town of Saint-Omer-Cappelle.
Many trees and electricity cables were blown down by the high winds, including a high-voltage pylon which fell near a motorway, triggering an accident in which two people were injured.
In west Sussex, Mr Peter Mills (67), a retired builder from East Beach, said the tornado lasted only a few seconds. "We have lost a conservatory. I don't know where it's gone, it just vanished."