Portal:Tornadoes

The Tornadoes Portal

A tornado near Anadarko, Oklahoma, in 1999

Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that are in contact with the Earth and either a cumulonimbus or a cumulus cloud. Tornadoes are often referred to as twisters, whirlwinds, or cyclones. While most tornadoes attain winds of less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers), the wind speeds in the most intense tornadoes can reach 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), are more than two miles (3 km) in diameter, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km). Various types of tornadoes include the multiple vortex tornado, landspout, and waterspout. Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirl, and steam devil. Most tornadoes occur in North America (in the United States and Canada), concentrated in a region nicknamed the Tornado Alley. Tornadoes also occur in South America, South Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Selected tornado article -

EF3 damage in Nappanee, Indiana, on October 18, 2007

The tornado outbreak of October 17–19, 2007 was a widespread tornado outbreak that took place across much of the eastern half of North America starting on October 17, 2007, and continuing into the early hours of October 19. The outbreak was also responsible for five deaths; three in Michigan and two in Missouri, plus many injuries (including some from non-tornadic events). At least 64 tornadoes were confirmed including 16 on October 17 across six states including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri with wind damage reported in Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas and Mississippi. On October 18, at least 48 tornadoes were confirmed across eight states including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, plus widespread straight line wind damage. Until 2010, this event held the record for largest tornado outbreak ever recorded in the month of October according to NOAA. (Full article...)

Selected tornado list -

Graph of tornadoes in the United States in 2012

In January and February 2012, the local weather forecast offices of the National Weather Service confirmed 134 tornadoes in the United States, indicating an above-average period of tornadic activity. On average, 64 tornadoes occur in the first two months of the year, with 35 occurring in January and 29 in February. However, in 2012, the count for the two months was 79 and 55, respectively. The first confirmed tornado in January (and 2012) was an EF0 tornado which struck Fort Bend County in Texas at 1445 UTC on January 9. The last tornado of February was an EF0 that affected Blount County in Tennessee at 0030 UTC on March 1, though in terms of Central Time Zone, where the tornado took place, it was still February 29. The period's strongest tornado was ranked as an EF4 and occurred on February 29 in Saline and Gallatin counties in Illinois. Total economic losses in the United States from the first two months of 2012 amounted to over $600 million.

January 2012 was the third-most active January for tornadoes in the United States since 1950, with 79 tornadoes, behind 1999 and 2008. Two deaths occurred in Alabama on January 23. The activity was the result of a strong La Niña, which contributed to the fourth-warmest January in the United States in recorded history. The unseasonal temperatures led to numerous tornadoes throughout the month, primarily in three tornado outbreaks. The month's largest tornado outbreak occurred from January 25–27, when 27 tornadoes formed across the Southern United States. However, none of these tornadoes exceeded EF1 intensity. A similarly widespread tornado outbreak occurred from January 22–23 and featured 25 tornadoes, of which 10 were classified as significant and thus exceeded EF1 intensity. Throughout the month, tornadoes caused at least $150 million of damage.

February 2012 was slightly less active, with 55 tornadoes, but was still above average. Similar to January, temperatures in the United States were anomalously warm, and the month ranked as the fifteenth-warmest February on record. However, tornadic activity was sparse throughout much of the month, before a large multi-day tornado outbreak took place across the Great Plains and the Ohio River Valley towards the end of the month. The strongest tornado, ranked as an EF4, struck Harrisburg, Illinois on February 29, killing eight. Overall, 15 people were killed during the outbreak, and tornadoes caused $450 million in damages. (Full article...)

Selected image -

The 2007 Elie, Manitoba tornado was an F5 tornado that struck the town of Elie in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The tornado swept a home off its foundation, becoming the first and last F5 tornado in Canada.

Selected tornado year -

Tracks of all US tornadoes in 1985.

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1985, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes. (Full article...)

Related portals

2024 tornado activity

A destroyed structure in Gallia County, Ohio on April 2

From April 1 to 3, 2024, a significant tornado outbreak, which also included a derecho, affected much of the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. The National Weather Service issued dozens of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings across West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri during the event. A total of 32 million people were estimated to be under watches or warnings, and over 150,000 people were estimated to be without power. and 15 people were injured. The event was given an outbreak intensity score of 28 points, ranking it as a significant tornado outbreak, and five people were killed by non-tornadic events as well. (Full article...)

Tornado anniversaries

May 29

• 1982 – An F4 tornado moved through Carterville, Crainville, and Marion, Illinois, with Marion suffering the worst damage. Ten people were killed, 181 were injured, and 261 homes were destroyed.
• 1995 – An F4 tornado moved through Great Barrington, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 24. All three deaths, two students and a teacher from Eagleton School, were in a van that was thrown about 1,000 feet (300 m) from Massachusetts Route 23.

May 30

• 1879 – A major tornado outbreak hit the Midwestern United States, with the worst effects in Kansas, killing at least 36 people. The event was studied extensively by John Park Finley. The greatest loss of life was from a long-track tornado family that killed 18 people on a track from near Randolph, Kansas to Dawson Mills in Richardson County, Nebraska, including nine people in the devastation of Irving, Kansas and five on farms near Frankfort, Kansas. A second tornado, estimated at F2 strength, struck Irving, killing five people.
• 1909 – An F4 tornado carved a 50-yard-wide path of destruction through Zephyr, Texas, killing at least 34 people. Twenty-eight homes, six businesses, two churches, and a school were destroyed, with many homes swept away. The death toll was likely higher, as many people were critically injured when the death toll of 34 was reported.
• 1917 – A major tornado outbreak struck Missouri with lesser effects in Illinois, killing at least 65 people. A pair of intense tornadoes on parallel paths killed 26 people across Carter, Butler, Wayne, and Bollinger Counties. The stronger of the two, rated F4, killed 18 people in the devastation of Dongola and Zalma. The other, estimated at F3 strength, killed eight people on two farms near Chaonia.

May 31

• 1985 – An unusual and catastrophic tornado outbreak produced violent tornadoes across parts of Ontario, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, killing 90 people. An F5 tornado devastated portions of Niles, Ohio and Wheatland, Pennsylvania, killing 18 people. Other hard-hit communities included Atlantic, Pennsylvania, Albion, Pennsylvania, and Barrie, Ontario. One tornado in Moshannon State Forest was 2.2 miles (3.5 km) wide, one of the widest on record.
• 2013 – The widest tornado ever recorded reached a maximum width of 2.6 mi (4.2 km) near El Reno, Oklahoma and had radar-indicated wind speeds of 302 mph (486 km/h). Among the eight people killed were four storm chasers, including Tim Samaras. This was the first known case of a tornado killing storm chasers.

Did you know…

• ...that the 2013 Moore tornado that struck Moore and Newcastle, Oklahoma, is the most recent EF5 tornado?
• ...that the 2021 South Moravia tornado, an IF4 tornado with winds between 207–260 mph (333–418 km/h), was the strongest tornado to hit the Czech Republic in modern history?

General images -

The following are images from various tornado-related articles on Wikipedia.

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  Aerial view of EF4 damage in Mayfield the day after the tornado (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  Radar collage of a supercell that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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  A multi-ton freight car that was thrown from the tracks in Barnsley (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  High-end EF4 damage to a house in Bremen (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  A satellite view of the extratropical cyclone that was responsible for the tornado outbreak on December 11. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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  Derecho moving across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa (from December 2021 Midwest derecho and tornado outbreak)
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  Major structural damage to a house near Hartford (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  Low-end EF4 damage to a business in downtown Cayce (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  Widespread devastation in a residential area of Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  A liquor store that was destroyed in the western part of Bowling Green, Kentucky. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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  Radar 3D volume scan of the supercell showing debris lofted over 30,000 feet (9.1 km) in the air as the tornado struck Mayfield (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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  Trees that were completely debarked and denuded near Buckeye, Arkansas. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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  EF3 damage to businesses in downtown Dresden, Tennessee. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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  High-end EF3 damage to homes in the Creekwood subdivision in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Numerous fatalities occurred in this area. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021)
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  Debris and destroyed homes along Alexander Street in Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)

Featured Article or List -

This is either a featured article or featured list, which represents some of the best articles on English Wikipedia.

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Picture of a house destroyed by the Wallingford Tornado of 1878

Although historically the U.S. state of Connecticut is not typically known to fall casualty to tornadoes, more than 100 of these powerful storms have affected the state in modern history, resulting in at least 48 deaths, 780 injuries, and more than $500 million in damage. This list of tornadoes in the state is likely incomplete, as official records date back only to 1950 for tornadoes in the United States.

As with most of the northeastern United States, the number of tornadoes peaks in the summer months, normally in July or August. Hartford County has had the most tornadoes in the state, although since 1950 Litchfield County has reported the most tornadoes. Several areas have been struck more than once, and Waterbury has been struck by no less than four tornadoes since 1955. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles and lists
Hurricane Katrina tornado outbreak List of tornadoes in the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak 1999 Sydney hailstorm 2006 Westchester County tornado

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Related WikiProjects

The scope of WikiProject Severe weather is to write articles about severe weather, namely thunderstorms and tornadoes. Their talk page is located here.

WikiProject Weather is the main hub for all articles that are weather-related. WikiProject Weather strives to improve articles in a variety of weather topics, including Tropical Cyclones, Severe Weather, General meteorology, Non-tropical Storms, Climate, Floods, Droughts and wildfires, Meteorological instruments and data, Meteorological Biographies, and Space Weather. If you would like to help, please visit the project talk page.

WikiProject Meteorology is a collaborative effort by dozens of Wikipedians to improve the quality of meteorology- and weather-related articles. If you would like to help, visit the project talk page, and see what needs doing. The project is currently being merged into WikiProject Weather.

WikiProject Tropical cyclones is a daughter project of WikiProject meteorology. The dozens of semi-active members and several full-time members focus on improving Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones.

Wikipedia is a fully collaborative effort by volunteers. So if you see something you think you can improve, be bold and get to editing! We appreciate any help you can provide!

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Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : WikiProject Weather article requests Expand : Severe weather Stubs : Expand Thunderstorm and tornado stub articles

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