List of tornadoes striking downtown areas of large cities
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is a list of tornadoes that have impacted the central business district (downtown or city center) of a large city (that is, one having at least 50,000 people, not counting suburbs or outlying communities, at the time of the storm).
It is a common myth that tornadoes do not strike downtown areas. The odds are much lower due to the small areas covered, but paths can go anywhere, including over downtown areas. St. Louis, Missouri has taken a direct hit four times in less than a century.[1] Many of the tornadoes listed were extremely destructive or caused numerous casualties, and the occurrence of a catastrophic event somewhere is inevitable.[2]
This list is not exhaustive (listing every single tornado that has struck a downtown area or central business district of any city), as it may never be known if a tornado struck a downtown area, or if it was just a microburst (powerful downward and outward gush of wind, which cause damage from straight-line winds), particularly for older events or from areas with limited information. Downbursts often accompany intense tornadoes, extending damage across a wider area than the tornado path. When a tornado strikes a city, it is occasionally very difficult to determine whether it was a tornadic event at all or if the affected area was indeed the "downtown", "city center", or "central business district" consisting of very high population density and mid to high-rises, as opposed to other heavily urbanized/built-up parts of the city or suburbs. It is sometimes also difficult to determine tornadoes that strike urban cores before 1950, when tornado records (particularly in the US) started to be consistently logged with detail. Before this, lack of details on information from the events, as well as that most cities were far smaller in area and population complicate the record.
For the list of cities that are not listed here for certain reasons, see below.
North America
Note: The F-Scale was superseded by the EF scale in the U.S. on February 1, 2007, and in Canada on April 1, 2013
For tornadoes and cities in: United States, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Cuba, Central America, and The Caribbean. Ratings for tornadoes in the United States prior to 1950 are not official and instead estimates made by tornado expert Tom Grazulis.
| F#/EF# | Location | Date | Deaths | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F3 | St. Louis, Missouri | March 8, 1871 | 9 | See article on this tornado — The tornado killed 9 and injured a further 60 in downtown St. Louis.[1][3] |
| F3 | Chicago, Illinois | May 6, 1876 | 2 | A multi-vortex tornado moved through downtown Chicago, destroying several buildings.[4] |
| F2 | Kansas City, Missouri | May 13, 1883 | 3 | The tornado moved along an erratic path in Kansas City, killing 3 and injuring several more.[1][5] |
| F2 | Washington, D.C. | September 16, 1888 | 0 | The tornado tracked 2 miles across downtown Washington, D.C. along Maryland Avenue, damaging two homes and partially deroofed the Smithsonian Institution Building.[1][6][7][8][9] |
| F4 | Louisville, Kentucky | March 27, 1890 | 76 | See section on this tornado — The tornado tracked 15 miles (24 km) through downtown Louisville, inflicting $75 million (1890 USD) in damages to several structures.[1] |
| F2 | Dallas, Texas | January 20, 1894 | 1 | A tornado tore through Dallas, killing one person. It was one of two tornadoes to touch down in Texas on January 20.[1][10] |
| F4 | St. Louis, Missouri | May 27, 1896 | 255+ | See article on this tornado — A violent tornado inflicted heavy damage to downtown St. Louis, killing 255 or more and injuring a further 1,000 or more. Damage from the tornado totaled $10+ million (1896 USD).[1][11][12] |
| F3 | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 18, 1927 | 2 | A tornado tracked through areas on the east side of Indianapolis, destroying multiple structures and killing 2.[1][13][14] |
| F3 | St. Louis, Missouri | September 29, 1927 | 72–79+ | See section on this tornado — A high-end F3 tornado moved through East St. Louis, killing 72 or more, injuring 555 or more, and inflicting a total of $22 million (1927 USD) in damages to the city.[15][16][17] |
| F3 | Columbus, Ohio | May 2, 1929 | 2 | 1929 Rye Cove tornado outbreak — A tornado moved through central Columbus, destroying the Columbus Division of Police headquarters.[18] |
| F3 | Nashville, Tennessee | March 14, 1933 | 15 | See section on this tornado — A tornado tracked across East Nashville, inflicting heavy damage to structures in the Donelson area. Damage costs from the tornado totaled an estimated $2.2 million (1933 USD).[1][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] |
| F2 | Charleston, South Carolina | September 29, 1938 | 27 | A tornado hit downtown Charleston, damaging several buildings.[1][27] |
| F5 | Waco, Texas | May 11, 1953 | 114 | See article on this tornado[1] |
| F4 | St. Louis, Missouri | February 10, 1959 | 21 | St. Louis tornado outbreak of February 1959[1] |
| F3 | Galveston, Texas | September 21, 1961 | 0 | Hurricane Carla tornado outbreak — Shortly after a comparable F4 tornado killed 8, an F3 tornado damaged commercial buildings in Galveston.[28] |
| F5 | Topeka, Kansas | June 8, 1966 | 17 | See section on this tornado[29] |
| F5 | Lubbock, Texas | May 11, 1970 | 28 | See article on this tornado[1][30] |
| F3 | Columbus, Ohio | May 10, 1973 | 0 | |
| F2 | Shreveport, Louisiana | April 17, 1978 | 0 | [1] |
| F4 | Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana | December 3, 1978 | 2 | 1978 Bossier City tornado outbreak[1] |
| F3 | Kalamazoo, Michigan | May 13, 1980 | 5 (79 injured) | 1980 Kalamazoo tornado[31] |
| F0 | South Bend, Indiana | May 31, 1991 | 0 | A brief tornado touched down in the bounds of downtown South Bend, producing no damage.[32] |
| F1 | Houston, Texas | November 16, 1993 | 0 (26 injured) | [1][33] |
| F3 | Fort Smith, Arkansas | April 21, 1996 | 2 (≥40 injured) | Tornado outbreak sequence of April 1996#April 21 - An F3 tornado caused significant damage across Fort Smith's downtown, industrial, and residential areas.[34] |
| F1 | Miami, Florida | May 12, 1997 | 0 | 1997 Miami tornado[1][35][36] |
| F3 | Nashville, Tennessee | April 16, 1998 | 1 | 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak[1][37][38] |
| F3 | Little Rock, Arkansas | January 21, 1999 | 2 | January 21–23, 1999 tornado outbreak § Little Rock, Arkansas tornadoes[1][39] |
| F1 | Hull, Quebec | May 8, 1999 | 0 (6 injured) | List of 1999 Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak tornadoes[40] |
| F2 | Salt Lake City, Utah | August 11, 1999 | 1 | 1999 Salt Lake City tornado[1][41][42] |
| F1 | Shreveport / Bossier City, Louisiana | April 23, 2000 | 0 (6 injured) | A tornado damaged windows, trees, and bus stops in downtown Shreveport and Bossier City. Damage estimated at 10 million dollars.[43] |
| F3 | Fort Worth, Texas | March 28, 2000 | 2 | 2000 Fort Worth tornado[1][44][45][46][47][48][49] |
| F2 | Guelph, Ontario | July 17, 2000 | 0 | [50] |
| F1 | Springfield, Illinois | April 2, 2006 | 0 | Damaged the office of the Illinois Department of Transportation.[51] |
| F2 | Iowa City, Iowa | April 13, 2006 | 0 (30 injured) | A high-end F2 damaged 1016 residential and 35 commercial buildings across Iowa City and the University of Iowa. Damage totals estimated at near 15 million dollars.[52] |
| EF1 | Des Moines, Iowa | October 2, 2007 | 0 | Tornadoes of 2007 § October 2[1] |
| EF2 | Atlanta, Georgia | March 14, 2008 | 1 | 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak[1][53] |
| EF2 | Shreveport, Louisiana | April 9, 2009 | 0 | April 2009 tornado outbreak – A strong tornado damaged businesses, power lines, and trees in Shreveport, as well as causing significant damage to Barksdale Air Force Base.[1][54][55][56] |
| EF2 | October 29, 2009 | 0 (1 injured) | The second EF2 tornado to strike Shreveport in 2009 caused an estimated 1 million dollars in damage to downtown Shreveport and threw the steeple of the First United Methodist Church onto an occupied car, injuring the person inside.[57] | |
| EF0 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | August 19, 2009 | 0 | [1][58] |
| EF2 | Huntsville, Alabama | January 21, 2010 | 0 | [1][59] |
| EF3 | Raleigh, North Carolina | April 16, 2011 | 6 | Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011[1][60] |
| EF3 | Springfield, Massachusetts | June 1, 2011 | 3 (200 injured) | 2011 New England tornado outbreak[1][61] |
| EF0 | Tampa, Florida | February 26, 2013 | 0 | [1][62] |
| EF4 | Garland / Rockwall / Rowlett, Texas | December 26, 2015 | 10 | See article on this tornado |
| EF1 | Davenport, Iowa | October 6, 2016 | 0 | An EF1 tornado caused damage to the roofs of a homeless shelter and Scott County Jail, as well as widespread tree damage.[63] |
| EF1 | Shreveport / Bossier City, Louisiana | April 14, 2018 | 0 | Tornado outbreak and blizzard of April 13–15, 2018 – An EF1 tornado caused an estimated 4 million dollars in damage across downtown Shreveport and Bossier City.[64] |
| EF3 | Gatineau, Quebec | September 21, 2018 | 0 (25 injured) | 2018 Dunrobin-Gatineau EF3 - An intense, high-end EF3 tornado tracked through the National Capital Region of Canada, inflicting major damage to the town of Dunrobin, Ontario before crossing the Ottawa River into Quebec. There, at mid-EF3 intensity, it struck the heavily populated downtown area of Gatineau, ripping the roofs, walls, and top floors off of apartment buildings, as well as damaging several car dealerships. |
| EF4 | Havana, Cuba | January 27, 2019 | 8 | See article on this tornado - An intense tornado produced during the passage of a cold front produced a damage path about 18 km long through central Havana. The tornado caused 8 deaths and 190+ injuries along its path. The tornado was a strong EF4 with winds estimated at 185 mph. |
| EF2 | San Angelo, Texas | May 18, 2019 | 0 | Tornado outbreak sequence of May 2019 § May 18–19[65][66] |
| EF3 | Nashville, Tennessee | March 3, 2020 | 5 | See the article on this tornado – An intense tornado, 0.9 mi (1.4 km) wide at one point, caused severe damage to numerous structures along its path, particularly in eastern sections of Nashville. Numerous homes and large warehouse buildings were completely demolished, consistent with a high-end EF3 rating. Along its 60.13 mi (96.77 km) path, 5 people were killed and 220 others were injured. The tornado was spawned during an overnight outbreak across Middle Tennessee which collectively killed 24 people, injured 307 others, and resulted in $1.6 billion in damage.[1][67][68] |
| EF0 | Orlando, Florida | June 6, 2020 | 0 | [69] |
| EF1 | Suffolk, Virginia | August 4, 2020 | 0 | See the article on this tornado – An EF1 tornado, part of a larger tornado outbreak spawned by Hurricane Isaias, caused significant damage to at least eight buildings in downtown Suffolk. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along the path.[70] |
| EF0 | New Orleans, Louisiana | May 12, 2021 | 0 | A weak tornado occurred in the Uptown area of New Orleans. It peeled back the roof of a large metal building before crossing the Mississippi River into Algiers. There, a few homes and businesses sustained minor roof damage. Trees and power lines were downed along the entire path of the tornado.[71] |
| EF1 | Arlington, Virginia/Washington, D.C. | July 1, 2021 | 0 (1 injured) | An EF1 tornado began in Arlington, snapping and uprooting numerous trees, including one that had its bark removed. Homes sustained exterior damage. The tornado crossed the Potomac River into the District of Columbia, causing tree damage at the National Mall and across Constitution Gardens. It mangled temporary fencing for an Independence Day celebration at The Mall before lifting.[72][73] A second, brief tornado touched down east of the National Mall, causing additional damage to trees, some of which fell on cars.[74] |
| EF1 | Sarasota, Florida | March 16, 2022 | 0 | The roof of an industrial building sustained significant damage.[75] |
| EF1 | Jackson, Mississippi | March 30, 2022 | 0 (1 injured) | See the article on this tornado – Homes sustained largely minor structural damage, except when downed trees inflicted additional damage.[76] |
| EF1 | Rockford, Illinois | March 31, 2023 | 0 | See the article on this tornado – An EF1 tornado caused widespread damage to trees and intermittent damage to roofs as it moved through Rockford.[77] |
| EF2 | Hendersonville, Tennessee | December 9, 2023 | 3 (22 injuries) | See the article on this tornado – A strong tornado damaged over 200 buildings in Hendersonville alone. No fatalities were reported from Sumner County.[78] |
| EF2 | Tallahassee, Florida | May 10, 2024 | 0 | See the article on this tornado – The northernmost of three tornadoes in Leon County, Florida, the tornado destroyed warehouses and caused significant tree damage across its 27.22 miles (43.81 km) path, being accompanied by significant straight-line winds to 100 mph (160 km/h), reaching a width of 0.5 miles (0.80 km) as it impacted downtown Tallahassee.[79][80] |
| EF1 | Lake Charles, Louisiana | May 13, 2024 | 0 | A tornado caused minor damage to trees, power lines, and a business in downtown Lake Charles.[81][82][83] |
| EF1 | Buffalo, New York | August 5, 2024 | 0 | [84] |
South America
Summarize
Perspective
South America has no default tornado strength measurement system, so the storms here will be listed using the Fujita scale.
| F# | City | Date | Deaths | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F3 | Concepción, Chile | May 27, 1934 | 27 (599 injured) | A rare tornado razed downtown Concepción in 1934. Tornadoes in Chile are not common, and this is considered to be the deadliest on record.[85][86] |
| FU | Santa Fe, Argentina[87] | November 6, 1945 | 8 injuries | An unrated tornado damaged 15 homes & downing powerlines. |
| FU | Lages, Brazil[88] | August 14, 1959 | 15 (unknown injuries) | Destructive tornado blew up roofs, destroyed houses & trees, and tossed vehicles. The tornado was never rated. |
| F1 | Buenos Aires, Argentina[89] | November 16, 1993 | 0 | An F1 tornado hit the northern district of Villa Urquiza in north-eastern downtown Buenos Aires. Trees & a pavilion were damaged. |
| F2 | Chivilcoy, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina[90] | January 7, 2006 | 1 (9 injured) | |
| F1 | São José dos Campos, Brazil[91] | January 24, 2006 | 0 | An F1 tornado destroyed hangars & damaged buildings. |
| F1 | Paraná, Argentina[92] | March 17, 2006 | 0 | An F1 tornado caused material damage within the city. |
| F3 | Barranquilla, Colombia[90] | September 15, 2006 | 0 (13 injured) | Damaging tornado that was followed by severe flash flooding. |
| F1 | Bogotá, Colombia[93] | November 6, 2007 | (1 injured) | Roofs were torn off buildings, including a car dealership. Windows were blown out and trees were uprooted. |
| FU | Paraná, Argentina[94] | February 15, 2010 | 0 | A tornado was reported within the city, causing no known damage. |
| F0 | Montevideo,Uruguay[95] | November 17 2011 | 0 | A tornado touched down with no damage reported |
| F1 | Limeira, Brazil[96] | March 3, 2013 | 0 | A large F1 tornado caused serious damage within the city. |
| F0 | Brasília[97] | October 1, 2014 | 0 (0 injured) | Brief landspout |
| F0 | Asunción, Paraguay[98] | December 26, 2015 | 0 | A weak tornado downed some branches. |
| F2 | Los Ángeles, Chile[99] | May 30, 2019 | 0 (43 injured) | Around 367 houses were damaged and a street pole was ripped out in this rare event. |
| F2 | Concepción, Chile[100] | May 31, 2019 | 1 (23 injured) | Several homes were damaged and some cars and trucks dumped. One person died in the city of Talcahuano. |
Europe
Summarize
Perspective
Note: The UK uses the TORRO scale. Tornadoes reported after August of 2023 will be listed on the IF scale since the ESSL implemented it into their database in August 2023 after its initial release on July 28, 2023[101]
| T#/F# | City | Date | Deaths | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T8/F4 | London, England[102][103][104][105] | October 23, 1091 | 2 fatalities, unknown amount of injuries | London tornado of 1091, destroyed London Bridge |
| F4 | Vyšehrad (now Prague), Bohemia[106][107] | July 30, 1119 | Unknown | Vyšehrad tornado of 1119. |
| FU | Prague, Bohemia[108][109] | May 14, 1144 | Unknown | Prague tornado of 1144 |
| F2 | Kyiv, Ukraine[110] | May 9, 1159 | Unknown | An F2 tornado touched down in Kyiv. |
| F1 | Prague, Bohemia[106][109] | April 8, 1255 | Unknown | Prague tornado of 1255 |
| T7/F3 | Valletta, Malta[103] | September 23, 1551 (or 1556) | 600 | Valletta, Malta tornado |
| FU | Augsburg, Germany[108][111] | July 2, 1587 | ||
| FU | Rome, Italy[108] | December 4, 1645 | ||
| F3 | Utrecht, Netherlands[112][113][114] | August 1, 1674 | Unknown | Utrecht, Netherlands tornado, damaged Dom Tower and Cathedral of St. Martin |
| F3 | Rome, Italy[108] | June 12, 1749 | 2 | Rome tornado of 1749 |
| F3 | Padua, Italy[115] | August 17, 1756 | Unknown | Padua, 17th August Tornado; heavy damages to the city, the leaded roof of the Palazzo della Ragione was thrown nearly 30km away |
| T8/F4 | Portsmouth, England[103] | December 14, 1810 | Unknown | Portsmouth, United Kingdom tornado |
| T6/F3 | Solingen, Germany[116] | August 13, 1832 | Unknown | Low-end F3 tornado in Solingen |
| FU | Cologne, Germany[117] | March 8, 1858 | Unknown | A tornado struck cologne along a 2 kilometer long path. The tornado was never rated |
| F3 | Frankfurt, Germany[118][119] | Summer of 1860 | Unknown | Frankfurt tornado of 1860 |
| FU | Brno, Moravia[103][108][120] | October 13, 1870 | Brno, Czech tornado | |
| T4/F2 | Vienna, Austria[108] | June 29, 1873 | Unknown | Tornado was observed in vienna. ESWD rated it F2. The severe storms also killed many chickens. |
| FU | Berlin, Germany[121] | November 3, 1876 | Unknown | A damaging tornado was observed in berlin. Windmills were picked up and thrown. Tornado was never rated |
| F3 | Madrid, Spain[122] | May 12, 1886 | 45 dead | The most catastrophic and deadliest tornado in Spain in the past 200 years, but not the most powerful |
| F0 | Berlin, Germany[123] | April 13, 1892 | 0 | A tornado was observed in Berlin. No damaged observed. |
| F2 | October 5, 1893 | 1 injured | ESWD mentions that an F2 tornado hit berlin. 12-year-old boy injured. Planks carried about 50 meters. Roofs damaged or destroyed and trees were uprooted or snapped. | |
| F2 | Paris, France[124] | September 10, 1896 | 5 dead | Tornado touched down in the heart of downtown Paris. |
| F0 | Munich, Germany[118] | May 27, 1897 | 0 | Munich tornado of 1897 |
| F4 | Cologne, Germany[118][125][126] | August 7, 1898 | 3 | Cologne tornado of 1898 |
| FU | Tambov, Russia[127] | June 2, 1902 | 2 | Tornado struck Tambov, causing 2 fatalities. Tornado was never rated |
| F4 | Moscow, Russia[128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135] | June 29, 1904 | >100 | 1904 Moscow tornado. The destroyed areas are within the city limits today, but were suburbs in 1904 |
| FU | Cologne, Germany[136] | August 14, 1906 | Unknown | A tornado struck Cologne. The tornado was never rated |
| FU | Berlin, Germany[137] | July 25, 1909 | Unknown | Berlin tornado of 1909 |
| FU | Nuremberg, Germany[138] | July 22, 1910 | Unknown | A long-track tornado was observed in Nuremberg, tracking 35 kilometers. The tornado was never rated. |
| F3 | Chemnitz, Germany[139][140] | May 27, 1916 | 0 | Chemnitz tornado of 1916 |
| T5/F2 | Düsseldorf, Germany[141][142][143] | June 8, 1924 | 2 | Düsseldorf tornado of 1924 |
| F3 | Nice, France[144] | December 1, 1924 | Unknown deaths, 30 injured | Nice tornado of 1924 |
| IF1.5 | Copenhagen, Denmark[145] | November 24, 1927 | 0, 1 injury | A IF1.5 tornado took a 3.5 km long path through downtown copenhagen, causing moderate damage. Trees were snapped & uprooted, some of which were tossed. Buildings in downtown sustained heavy roof damage with one being partially destroyed, open windows were ripped out of homes & sheds were destroyed. As it hit a allotment area, a roof was torn off which injured 1 woman. It is noted that it may have reached IF2 intensity. |
| FU | Berlin, Germany[146] | July 4, 1928 | 0 | A tornado struck berlin along a 6 km long path. Tornado was never rated |
| F2 | Salzburg, Austria[147] | June 4, 1929 | 1 Fatality | A tornado struck Salzburg, resulting in 1 fatality, associated with a derecho. ESWD rated the tornado F2. |
| F3-F4 | Lublin, Poland[120][148] | July 20, 1931 | 3 dead (1 in Lublin, 2 behind Lublin), a dozen injured | Lublin tornado of 1931 |
| F4 | Düsseldorf, Germany[149][150] | January 10, 1936 | 2 | Düsseldorf tornado of 1936 |
| FU | Nuremberg, Germany[151] | September 18, 1939 | Unknown | A tornado was observed in Nuremberg. Tornado was never rated |
| FU | Randers, Denmark[152] | July 17, 1941 | Unknown | A tornado struck Randers. No damage known. |
| T1/F0 | May 15, 1945 | 0 | A tornado struck the dock area of Randers, lifting circus tents & tossing around benches | |
| F2 | Hannover, Germany[153] | September 15, 1950 | 0 | Hannover tornado of 1950 |
| T3/F1 | Oldenburg, Germany[154] | May 16, 1953 | 0 | A high-end F1 tornado touched down in Oldenburg. |
| T2/F1 | Slough, United Kingdom[155] | September 17, 1953 | 0 | A low-end F1 tornado touched down in Slough. |
| F3 | Castelo Branco, Portugal[156][157] | November 6, 1954 | 5 dead, 220 injured | |
| F0 | Magdeburg, Germany[153] | July 25, 1955 | 0 | Magdeburg tornado of 1955 |
| F1 | Düsseldorf, Germany[153] | October 6, 1955 | Unknown | Düsseldorf tornado of 1955 |
| F1 | Szczecin, Poland[158] | August 25, 1956 | 0 | Szczecin tornado of 1956 |
| F1 | Perm, Russia[159] | June 17, 1960 | Unknown | Perm tornado of 1960 |
| F1 | Voronezh, Russia[159] | August 14, 1961 | Unknown | Voronezh tornado of 1961 |
| FU | Minsk, Belarus[160] | May 18, 1963 | Unknown | Tornado reported in Minsk. The tornado was never rated |
| F2 | Esbjerg, Denmark[152] | August 1, 1966 | Unknown | ESWD mentions that a tornado destroyed roofs in esbjerg. |
| F4 | Padua and Venice, Italy[161][162][163][164][165] | September 11, 1970 | 36 | Struck the area between the Province of Padua and Venice Lagoon. |
| F3 | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia[166] | July 3, 1974 | Unknown | Nizhny Novgorod tornado of 1974 |
| F1 | Sanremo, Italy[167] | January 20, 1981 | 5 injured | Tornado started as a waterspout, moving inland in sanremo. Houses and vehicles damaged and trees were uprooted. Rated F1 by ESWD. |
| T3/F1 | Wallasey, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak |
| T2/F1 | St Helens, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak |
| T3/F1 | Warrington, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak. Tornado started over Croft, but then later hit Warrington. Traveled 6.8 miles. |
| T2/F1 | Oldham, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak. Tornado started in Hollinwood and traveled 3.1 miles, impacting Oldham. |
| T2/F1 | Dudley, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak |
| T1/F0 | Luton, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak |
| T1/F0 | Norwich, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak |
| T2/F1 | Chelmsford, UK | November 23, 1981 | 0 | 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak |
| T3/F1 | Berlin, Germany[168] | May 16, 1983 | 0 | A high-end F1 tornado was observed in Berlin. |
| F4 | Ivanovo/Yaroslavl/Perm/Tver/Kostroma[169][170][171][172][173] | June 9, 1984 | More than 400 deaths in the outbreak | 1984 Soviet Union tornado outbreak |
| F2 | Oulu, Finland[174] | August 11, 1985 | Unknown | A waterspout made landfall in Oulu, causing F2 damage. |
| F2 | Turku, Finland[175] | July 21, 1988 | Unknown | A tornado struck Turku, causing F2 damage. |
| F1 | Copenhagen, Denmark[176] | June 30, 1997 | 0 | A tornado hit Copenhagen across a 0.7 km long and 60 meter wide path. Rated F1 by ESWD. |
| F2 | Moscow, Russia[177] | June 21, 1998 | 11 deaths, 200 injuries | An F2 tornado damaged over 2000 homes, damaged over 120 thousand trees, as well as damaging cranes and vehicles |
| F2 | St Pölten, Austria[178] | July 7, 1998 | 3 Injuries | A tornado hit Pölten across a 5 km long and 250 meter wide path. ESWD gave the tornado an F2 rating. |
| FU | Sochi, Russia[177] | September 24, 1998 | Unknown | A tornado touched down in Sochi. The tornado was never rated |
| F1 | Saransk, Russia[179] | April 26, 1999 | 0 | A tornado went through Saransk across a 0.5 km long and 10 meter wide path. Two cars were moved. ESWD rated it F1. |
| F2 | Monza, Italy[180] | 15 April 2000 | Monza-Villasanta tornado of 2000. | |
| F1 | Copenhagen, Denmark[181] | June 11, 2004 | 0 | Tornado over Copenhagen, tracking 1 kilometer. Rated F1 by ESWD. |
| F1 | Randers, Denmark[182] | July 3, 2004 | 0 | Tornado damaged homes across a 2 km long path in Randers. Rated F1 by ESWD. |
| F2 | Duisburg, Oberhausen, Germany[183] | July 18, 2004 | 6 injured | |
| F1 | Oslo, Norway[184] | October 22, 2004 | 0 | F1 Tornado hit The dock area of oslo, causing moderate damage. Trees were downed, cars were moved & a street sign were bent 35 degrees |
| FU | Örebro, Sweden[185] | July 15, 2005 | Unknown | A tornado hit Örebro along a 3 kilometer long path. The tornado was never rated. |
| FU | Växjö, Sweden[185] | July 15, 2005 | Unknown | A tornado hit Växjö. The tornado was never rated. |
| F1 | Halmstad, Sweden[185] | July 16, 2005 | Unknown | An F1 tornado hit Halmstad. |
| FU | Helsinki, Finland[186] | August 28, 2005 | 0 killed, 7 injured | A tornado hit Helsinki, causing 7 injuries. The tornado was never rated. |
| F2 | Hamburg, Germany[187][188][189][190] | March 27, 2006 | 2 killed, ≥2 injured | A tornado hit Hamburg, killing 2 crane operators and injuring at least two people. |
| T4/F2 | Nuremberg, Germany[191] | August 28, 2006 | 0 | A tornado was observed in Nuremberg, tracking 1.7 kilometers with a max width of 250 meters. Roofs and chimneys were damaged, some of which were severely damaged. 10 - 15 meter tall trees were snapped. |
| T4/F2 | London, United Kingdom[192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200] | December 7, 2006 | 0 | London tornado of 2006 |
| F2 | Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany[201] | June 25, 2007 | Unknown | Oberrad tornado of 2007 |
| F1 | Helsingborg, Sweden[202] | August 16, 2007 | Unknown | An F1 tornado hit Helsingborg. |
| F2 | Ålborg, Denmark[203] | August 10, 2008 | Unknown | southern part of downtown Ålborg was hit by an F2/IF2 tornado that tracked 6.6 KM. Roofs sustained high-end F1/IF1 damage with some buildings being partly deroofed. Trees were uprooted or snapped, including A healthy hardwood tree that was snapped at F2/IF2 intensity. |
| T4/F2 | Málaga, Spain[204][205][206] | February 1, 2009 | 0 | Málaga tornado of 2009 |
| F1 | Kolpino, Russia[207] | July 9, 2010 | ||
| F3 | Blagoveshchensk, Russia[208][209] | July 31, 2011 | 1 killed, 38 injured | Blagoveshchensk tornado |
| T2/F1 | Chorzów, Poland[210][211] | August 21, 2016 | 0 | Chorzów - Siemianowice Śląskie tornado |
| T2/F1 | Amsterdam, Netherlands[212] | August 9, 2019 | 0 | A waterspout hit land and caused damage in Amsterdam's Centrum. |
| F2 | Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine[213][214] | October 17, 2020 | 3 injuries | A tornado caused damage in Kropyvnytskyi. More than 100 roofs were damaged, lots of them badly, occasionally walls collapsed or were badly damaged, dozens of trees were snapped, debranched or uprooted. 3 people sustained injuries. |
| F1 | Barking, UK[215] | June 25, 2021 | 0 | A tornado caused moderate damage in Barking. |
| F1 | Kiel, Germany[216][217] | September 29, 2021 | 7 Injuries | A long track tornado hit Kiel. Started in Meimersdorf, moving through Kiel across a 14.5 km long & 70 meter wide path. It ended near Dorf (Kiel). Roofs were severely damaged by this tornado. A supercell waterspout was also spawned in parallel to the main tornado as it was crossing the rivers near Kiel's dock. The tornado remained on the ground for 31 minutes. Several people were injured when they were thrown into the water. |
| F1 | Mechelen, Belgium[218] | October 12, 2021 | 0 | A brief F1 tornado partly blew off the roof of a garage & damaged another apartment. |
| F0 | Anapa, Russia[219] | January 29, 2022 | 0 | ESWD mentions that a tornado started as a waterspout, moving inland in Anapa. Roofs were damaged. |
| T1/F0 | Sandnes, Norway[220][221] | February 6, 2022 | 0 | A brief high-end F0/T1 tornado hit Sandnes. Roof tiles ripped off, sheds blown away, fencing downed & a tree was uprooted. The tornado tracked 0.1 km, reaching a max width of 30 meters. |
| F2 | Lippstadt, Germany[222][223][224] | May 20, 2022 | 0 | A large wedge tornado hit Lippstadt, associated with a cyclic supercell that produced several tornadoes. Considerable damage occurred during this tornado's 13.4 km long path. Roofs were damaged or partly deroofed. Roof tiles were stripped off homes. One Farm sustained heavy deroofing. A church had its wooden tower demolished. trees lost large branches and were uprooted or snapped, some of which landed on vehicles. Some trees sustained debranching as well. No injuries were reported. |
| F2 | Paderborn, Germany[222][225][226] | May 20, 2022 | 43 Injuries | A tornado, associated with a cyclic supercell that produced several tornadoes caused considerable damage to buildings, trees, and vehicles in Paderborn, leaving 43 injured along its 21.5 km long path. Roofs were severely damaged or destroyed, including a church that saw severe roof tile loss. A factory had its steel roof structure severely destroyed and peeled back. A building had its garage port blown in. Windows were broken and debris was impaled into buildings, vehicles, and objects, including a Ford Transit Connect van that saw significant damage to the trunk when it was impaled by debris. Trees lost large branches and were uprooted, snapped, or twisted, some landing on vehicles. Several cars, trucks & caravans were overturned, flipped, or destroyed. |
| FU | Sergiyev Posad, Russia[227] | July 18, 2023 | 0 | A weak tornado hit Sergiyev Posad, but was never rated. |
| FU | Mahilyow, Belarus[228] | July 27, 2023 | 0 | A tornado hit Mahilyow, but was never rated. |
| IFU | Salerno, Italy[229] | November 21, 2023 | 0 | A waterspout made landfall in Salerno. The tornado was never rated. |
| IFU | Genoa, Italy[229] | November 29, 2023 | 0 | A waterspout made landfall in the port area at downtown Genoa. The tornado was never rated. |
| IFU | Rhodes, Greece[229][230] | February 12, 2024 | 0 | A waterspout made landfall in the port area at downtown Rhodes, causing damage to ships & downing trees. The tornado has not yet been rated |
Africa
Africa has no default tornado strength measurement system, so the storms here will be listed using the Fujita Scale.
| F# | City | Date | Deaths | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F4 | Roodepoort, South Africa[231] | November 26, 1948 | 4[a] | The parent cell produced 15 known tornadoes, wrecked 700 homes, and caused an estimated R150,000,000 in damage. |
| F? | Albertynesville, South Africa[232] | November 30, 1952 | 20 | Albertynesville, South Africa Tornado |
| F2 | Paynesville, South Africa[233] | December 2, 1952 | 11 | Paynesville, South Africa Tornado |
| F3 | Mtata, South Africa[234] | December 15, 1998 | 15 | Mtata, South Africa Tornado |
| F3 | Klerksdorp, South Africa[235] | March 3, 2007 | 1 | Klerksdorp, South Africa Tornado |
| F4 | Duduza/East Rand, South Africa[236] | October 2, 2011 | 2 | East Rand – Duduza, South Africa Tornado |
Asia
Summarize
Perspective
Most of Asia has no default tornado strength measurement system (though Japan has been known to use the Fujita Scale in the past), so the storms here will be listed using the Fujita Scale.[237]
| F#/EF# | City | Date | Deaths | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F? | Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan[237] | September 26, 1881 | 16 | Miyazaki Tornado of 1881 |
| F? | Dhaka, Bangladesh[238] | April 7, 1888 | 184 dead, 1200 injured | |
| F? | Yodobashi City, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan[237] | September 23, 1903 | 10, 14 injured | |
| F? | Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan[237] | November 28, 1941 | 12 dead, 177 injured, 347 homes destroyed | |
| F4 | Shanghai, China[239] | September 24, 1956 | 68 deaths, hundreds injured | A typhoon-related event |
| F? | Tomiye City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan[237] | November 10, 1957 | 8 | |
| F? | Tokyo, Japan[237] | May 24, 1964 | 480 homes damaged | |
| F4 | Yancheng, China[240] | March 3, 1966 | 87 deaths, 1246 injured | Lifted a transfomer of tons to the other side of a big river and severely damaged a concrete factory |
| F3+ | Bazhou and Tianjin, China[241] | August 29, 1969 | >94 deaths, hundreds injured | This tornado first caused high casualties in several villages before entering downtown Tianjin with near peak intensity. Concrete factories were severely damaged and some leveled. |
| F3+ | Hulan, China[citation needed] | July 3, 1987 | 1 dead, 161 injured | Hulan, Heilongjiang Tornado |
| F? | New Delhi, India[242] | March 17–18, 1978 | 28 dead, 700 injured | New Delhi Tornado |
| F3 | Dalatpur Upazila, Manikganj/Saturia, Bangladesh[citation needed] | April 26, 1989 | 1300+ | Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado |
| F3 | Mobara, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan[243] | December 11, 1990 | 0, 78 injured, 1000 homes damaged | Mobara Tornado |
| F? | Shanghai, People's Republic of China[244] | August 11, 1995 | 4 | |
| F? | Dhaka Division, Bangladesh[245] | May 13, 1996 | 700+ | |
| F3 | Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan[246] | September 24, 1999 | 4 | Toyohashi City, Japan Tornadoes |
| F? | Tokyo, Japan[237] | September 12, 2000 | 0, several homes damaged | |
| F3 | Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyūshū, Japan[247] | September 18, 2006 | 3 | Nobeoka, Miyazaki Tornado |
| EF3 | Longgang, China[248] | August 18, 2007 | 11 dead, 60+ injured | Related to Typhoon Sepat |
| EF3+ | Lingbi County, Anhui, People's Republic of China[249] | June 20, 2008 | 1 | Lingbi, Anhui Tornado |
| EF1 | New Taipei, Taiwan[250] | May 12, 2011 | 0 known, some light damage | Xindian District, New Taipei city Tornado |
| F? | New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines[251] | June 24, 2011 | at least 1 injured, more than 30 homes damaged | New Manila Tornado |
| F3 | Tsukuba&Jōsō, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan[252] | May 6, 2012 | 1 dead, 30 injured, 345 homes damaged | Tsukuba & Jōsō, Ibaraki Tornado |
| F2 | Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, Japan[253] | September 2, 2013 | 63 injured,89 homes damaged | Koshigaya, Saitama Tornado |
| F? | Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines[254] | November 4, 2013 | 13 injured, more than 20 homes damaged | Tropical Depression Wilma |
| F? | Cebu City, Philippines[255] | April 8, 2014 | 1 injured, more than 20 homes damaged | Cebu City Tornado |
| EF4+ | Yancheng, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China[256] | June 23, 2016 | 99 dead, 846 injured | Jiangsu tornado |
| F? | Manila, Philippines[257] | August 14, 2016 | 1 injured | Manila tornado |
| F? | Marikina, Philippines[258] | September 14, 2018 | 2 injured | Typhoon Mangkhut |
| EF4 | Kaiyuan, China[259] | July 3, 2019 | 7 deaths, 190 injured | Kaiyuan, Liaoning Tornado |
| EF1 | Yingkou, China[260] | August 16, 2019 | Yingkou, Liaoning Tornado | |
| EF2 | Danzhou, China[261] | August 29, 2019 | 8 dead, 8 injured | Related to Tropical Storm Podul |
| EF2 | Guangzhou, China | June 16, 2022 | 0 | Tornadoes of 2022#June 16 (China) |
Notable absences
Summarize
Perspective
The 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak that spawned the deadly F5 tornado which struck Oklahoma City and some of its suburbs, including Moore and Midwest City, is not listed because it did not reach the downtown core of Oklahoma City. The 2013 Moore tornado is also not included for the same reason.
The downtown areas of two then-small towns (now large cities) in North Carolina were struck during the 1884 Enigma outbreak: Concord and Cary. Downtown Concord was struck a second time by a tornado in May 1936.[262][263][264]
The 1987 Edmonton Tornado is not listed because it struck industrial parks, trailer parks, and suburban areas, and was far away from Edmonton's downtown core. The "Oak Lawn tornado" of April 21, 1967 which killed 33 people, mostly those in rush hour traffic at a busy intersection, and moved across southern Chicago onto Lake Michigan is not included because it missed the downtown core. Most recently, the 2008 Memphis tornado on February 5, 2008, also missed the downtown area (by a significant distance).
The Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence in 1953 produced several tornadoes that struck metropolitan areas. However, none of the tornadoes hit downtown areas, moving through areas just north or west of the city cores. Therefore, these twisters are not included.[265]
Tornado-warned supercells have moved into cities, including Toronto in August 2005[266] and Chicago in July 2023,[267] however only storms that produced confirmed tornadoes in downtown city centers are included.
The devastating and violent EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri in 2011 is not listed as the tornado did not impact downtown, instead impacting residential areas in the south of the city. The F3 tornado that affected Joplin on May 5, 1971 is not included as the population was below 50,000.[268]
Another notable absence is the July 7, 1915 storm that struck Cincinnati, killing 38 people. This was determined to be most likely a windstorm causing downbursts or even a series of microbursts (with much of the damage coming from the straight-line winds), and not a tornado.[269][270]
European tornadoes that are listed before 1950 are for cities that had at least 50,000 people in them at the time. Tornadoes dating back to 1054 are confirmed, due to extensive record-keeping for many weather events and other until-then unexplained weather occurrences.
On September 8, 2010, Tropical Storm Hermine went over the state of Texas and produced a few tornadoes in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. One notable tornado was located in an industrialized area west of downtown Dallas before it lifted up over Interstate 35E just south of Dallas Love Field. However, the EF2 tornado was about 3–4 mi (4.8–6.4 km) away and did not strike the immediate downtown Dallas area. Similarly, the 1957 Dallas tornado hit areas northwest and north and downtown, missing the core of the city. The May 26, 1976 and October 20, 2019, Dallas tornadoes were also not listed for the same reasons (striking the northern Dallas neighborhoods in an almost identical track between each other).
The city of Auckland in New Zealand has experienced multiple fatal tornadoes in its history, including one in 2012 which killed 3 people.[271] However, none of these tornadoes have reached the downtown district of the city.
The July 2024 Midwest derecho produced multiple tornadoes impacting large cities, including Des Moines, Iowa,[272] Davenport, Iowa,[273] Peoria, Illinois,[274] Joliet, Illinois,[275] and Chicago, Illinois; none of the tornadoes reached a downtown area.
Tornadoes that have struck cities that fell short of 50,000 at their previous census include Hattiesburg, Mississippi's 2013 EF4,[276] Fort Smith, Arkansas's 1898 F4,[277] Portage, Michigan's 2024 EF2,[278] Newnan, Georgia's 2021 EF4,[279] and Barrie, Ontario's 1985 F4.[280] The city of Rome, New York was hit by an EF2 tornado in July 2024; it is not included as the city's population, which exceeded 50,000 in the past, had a 2020 population of under 40,000.[281] Athens, Alabama was hit by a High end EF1 tornado that stripped several roofs off of businesses in the Limestone County Court Square. Athens was not included as it only had about 31,000 people in the 2023 census estimates, although it is the 2nd largest suburb in the Huntsville metropolitan area after Madison.[282][283]
See also
Notes
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.