Tornado records
Encyclopedia
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
records. The most extreme tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State Tornado
Tri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the 1840 Great Natchez Tornado...
, which roared through parts of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
on March 18, 1925. It was likely an F5, though tornadoes were not ranked on any scale in that era. It holds records for longest path length (219 miles, 352 km), longest duration (about 3.5 hours), and fastest forward speed for a significant tornado (73 mph, 117 km/h) anywhere on earth. In addition it is the deadliest single tornado in United States history (695 dead). It was also the second costliest tornado in history at the time, but has been surpassed by several others non-normalized. When costs are normalized for wealth and inflation, it still ranks third today.
The deadliest tornado in world history was the Daultipur-Salturia Tornado
Daultipur-Salturia Tornado
The Daulatpur-Saturia, Bangladesh Tornado was an extremely destructive tornado that occurred in the Manikganj District, Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. It was the costliest and deadliest tornado in Bangladesh's history. There is great uncertainty about the death toll, but estimates indicate that it...
in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
on April 26, 1989, which killed approximately 1,300 people. Bangladesh has had at least 19 tornadoes in its history kill more than 100 people, almost half of the total for the rest of the world.
The most extensive tornado outbreak
Tornado outbreak
While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...
on record, in almost every category, was the Super Outbreak
Super Outbreak
The Super Outbreak is the second largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the tornado outbreak of April 25–28, 2011...
, which affected a large area of the central United States and extreme southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in Canada on April 3 and April 4, 1974. Not only did this outbreak feature an incredible 148 tornadoes in only 18 hours, but an unprecedented number of them were violent; 6 were of F5 intensity and 24 were F4. This outbreak had a staggering 16 tornadoes on the ground at the same time at the peak of the outbreak. More than 300 people, possibly as many as 330, were killed by tornadoes during this outbreak. However, this record was later broken during the 2011 Super Outbreak, which resulted in 340+ casualties and had more than 330 tornadoes touch down.
Most tornadoes in single 24-hour outbreak
The Super OutbreakSuper Outbreak
The Super Outbreak is the second largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the tornado outbreak of April 25–28, 2011...
of April 3–4, 1974 spawned 148 confirmed tornadoes across eastern North America and resulted in the second highest death toll (319) for a tornado outbreak in the United States. Not only did it produce an exceptional number of tornadoes, but it was also an inordinately intense outbreak producing dozens of large, long-track tornadoes, including 6 F5 and 24 F4 tornadoes. More significant tornadoes occurred within 24 hours than any other week in the tornado record.
The April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak has broken the Super Outbreak's record. The National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
reports that the outbreak produced approximately 336 tornadoes, with 190 of those in a single 24-hour period. 340 deaths have occurred in that same 24-hour time period. The outbreak has also helped smash the record for most tornadoes in the month of April with around 600 tornadoes, more than double the prior record (267 in April of 1974). The overall record for a single month was 542 in May of 2003, which has also been broken.
Largest outbreak in the fall
Most tornado outbreakTornado outbreak
While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...
s occur in the spring, but there is a secondary peak of tornado activity in the fall. In 1992, 95 tornadoes broke out in 41 hours of continuous tornado activity
November 1992 Tornado Outbreak
The November 1992 tornado outbreak was a three-day tornado outbreak that struck large parts of the eastern and Midwestern U.S. on November 21-23...
from November 21 to 23. Many other very large outbreaks have occurred in the fall, especially in November and early December.
Longest continuous outbreak
Under most definitions, the November 1992 tornado outbreak is also the longest continuous tornado outbreak, and among the largest in geographic scope, as well.Most tornadoes spawned from a hurricane
The greatest number of tornadoes spawned from a hurricane is 117 from Hurricane IvanHurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
in 2004
Tornado casualties and damage
Deadliest single tornado in world history
April 26, 1989 - BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
- A massive tornado
Daultipur-Salturia Tornado
The Daulatpur-Saturia, Bangladesh Tornado was an extremely destructive tornado that occurred in the Manikganj District, Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. It was the costliest and deadliest tornado in Bangladesh's history. There is great uncertainty about the death toll, but estimates indicate that it...
took 1,418 lives
Deadliest single tornado in US history
The Tri-State TornadoTri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the 1840 Great Natchez Tornado...
of March 18, 1925 killed 695 people in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
(11), Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(613), and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
(71). The outbreak it occurred with was also the deadliest known tornado outbreak
Tornado outbreak
While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...
, with a combined death toll of 747 across the Mississippi River Valley.
Most damaging tornado
Similar to fatalities, damage (and observations) of a tornado are a coincidence of what character of tornado interacts with certain characteristics of built up areas. That is, destructive tornadoes are in a sense "accidents" of a large tornado striking a large population. In addition to population and changes thereof, comparing damage historically is subject to changes in wealth and inflation. The St. Louis-East St. Louis TornadoSt. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado
The 1896 St. Louis – East St. Louis tornado is a historic tornado event that occurred on Wednesday, May 27, 1896, as part of a major tornado outbreak across the Central United States on the 27th, continuing across the Eastern United States on the 28th. One of the deadliest and most...
of May 27, 1896 incurred the most damages adjusted for wealth and inflation, at an estimated $2.9 billion (1997 USD). In raw numbers, the "Oklahoma City Tornado" of May 3, 1999 is the most damaging.
Highest winds observed in a tornado
During the F5 tornado that moved into Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999, a Doppler On WheelsDoppler On Wheels
Doppler On Wheels is a fleet of radar trucks maintained by the Center for Severe Weather Research led by Joshua Wurman, with the funding mainly provided by the National Science Foundation...
situated near the tornado measured winds of 301 +/- 20 mph (484 +/- 32 km/h) momentarily in a small area inside the funnel approximately 100 m (330 ft) above ground level.
Winds were measured at 257-268 mph (414–431 km/h) using portable doppler radar in the Red Rock
Red Rock, Oklahoma
Red Rock is a town in Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 293 at the 2000 census...
Tornado during the Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak
Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak
The 1991 Andover, Kansas tornado outbreak was a violent outbreak of 55 tornadoes which took place on April 26, 1991, killing 24 people and injuring hundreds more. The Andover outbreak was featured in two different documentaries: the first one was Enemy Wind, a documentary produced by The Weather...
. Though these winds are possibly indicative of an F5 strength tornado, this particular tornado's path never encountered any significant structures and caused minimal damage. Thus it was rated an F4.
Longest damage path and duration
The longest track single tornado is the Tri-State TornadoTri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the 1840 Great Natchez Tornado...
, which traversed ≥219 miles (≥352 km) across southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwestern Indiana in about 3.5 hours. Though there has been some discussion as to whether this was a single tornado or a tornado family
Tornado family
A tornado family is a series of tornadoes spawned by the same supercell. These families form a line of successive or parallel tornado paths and can cover a short span or a vast distance. Tornado families are sometimes mistaken as a single continuous tornado, especially prior to the 1970s...
, recent and ongoing detailed reanalysis has found no break in the path and in fact that the tornado began 15 mi (24 km) before previously thought.
Longest path and duration tornado family
What at one time was thought to be the record holder for the longest tornado path is now thought to be the longest tornado family, with a track of at least 293 miles (472 km) on May 26, 1917 from the Missouri border across Illinois into Indiana. It caused severe damage and mass casualties in CharlestonCharleston, Illinois
Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,838 as of the 2010 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor Mattoon, Illinois...
and Mattoon, Illinois
Mattoon, Illinois
Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,555 as of the 2010 census. It is a principal city of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.Mattoon was the site of the "Mad Gasser" attacks of the 1940s....
.
What was probably the longest track supercell
Supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, continuously-rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms...
thunderstorm tracked 790 miles (1,271 km) across 6 states in 17.5 hours on March 12, 2006 as part of the March 2006 Tornado Outbreak Sequence
March 2006 Tornado Outbreak Sequence
The March 2006 Tornado Outbreak Sequence was an early season and long lasting tornado outbreak sequence in the central United States that started on the morning of March 9 and continued for over four days until the evening of March 13. The outbreak produced 105 confirmed tornadoes. At least 13...
. It began in Noble County, Oklahoma
Noble County, Oklahoma
Noble County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 11,561. Its county seat is Perry.-21st century:In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline was constructed north to south through Noble County....
and ended in Jackson County, Michigan
Jackson County, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 158,422 people, 58,168 households, and 40,833 families residing in the county. The population density was 224 people per square mile . There were 62,906 housing units at an average density of 89/sq mi...
, producing many tornadoes in Missouri and Illinois.
Widest damage width
The widest tornado (defined as damage path, not condensation/debris cloud or radar measurements) on record is the WilberWilber, Nebraska
Wilber is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,855 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saline County. Wilber is the official "Czech Capital of the USA" and hosts an annual Czech festival in August...
- Hallam, Nebraska
Hallam, Nebraska
Hallam is a village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 276 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hallam is located at ....
tornado during the outbreak of May 22, 2004, with a width of 2.5 miles (4 km) at its peak.
The widest tornado as measured by actual radar wind measurements was the Mulhall
Mulhall, Oklahoma
Mulhall is a town in Logan and Payne counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 239 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
(1999) tornado in northern Oklahoma which occurred during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. The diameter of the maximum winds
Radius of maximum wind
The radius of maximum wind is the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds. It is a parameter in atmospheric dynamics and tropical cyclone forecasting. The highest rainfall rates occur near the RMW of tropical cyclones. The extent of a cyclone's storm surge and...
(over 110 metres per second (246.1 mph)) was over 1600 m as measured by a DOW radar. Although the tornado passed largely over rural terrain, the width of the wind swath capable of producing damage was as wide as 4 miles (7 km), making the actual wind field of the Mulhall tornado likely twice as wide as that of the Hallam tornado (the wind field of which was not measured), even though the Hallam tornado resulted in a wider damage path.
Highest forward speed
73 mph (117 km/h) from the Tri-State TornadoTri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the 1840 Great Natchez Tornado...
(other weak tornadoes have approached or exceeded this speed, but this is the fastest forward movement observed in a major tornado).
Greatest pressure drop
A pressureAtmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
deficit of 100 mb was observed when a violent tornado near Manchester, South Dakota
Manchester, South Dakota
Manchester was a small unincorporated community in Kingsbury County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of South Dakota. On June 24, 2003, the town was completely annihilated by a large F4-rated tornado, and has since become a ghost town.-History:...
on June 24, 2003 passed directly over an in-situ probe. In less than a minute the pressure dropped to 850 mb, which is the lowest pressure ever recorded at the Earth's surface when adjusted to sea level.
On April 21, 2007, a 194 mb pressure deficit was reported when a tornado struck a storm chasing
Storm chasing
Storm chasing is broadly defined as the pursuit of any severe weather condition, regardless of motive, which can be curiosity, adventure, scientific exploration or for news professions/media coverage....
vehicle in Tulia, Texas
Tulia, Texas
Tulia is a city in, and county seat of, Swisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,117 at the 2000 census; in the 2005 census estimate, it had fallen to 4,714. The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, approximately two miles east Interstate 27...
. However, the pressure instrument was inside a vehicle which experienced winds greater than 50 metres per second (111.8 mph) and therefore this measurement was likely contaminated substantially by dynamic effects. The tornado was relatively weak and caused only EF2 damage as it passed through Tulia. The reported pressure drop far exceeds that which would be expected based on theoretical calculations (Lee, W.-C. and J. Wurman, 2005: The diagnosed structure of the Mulhall tornado, J. Atmos.
Sci., 62, 2373-2393.)
There is a questionable and unofficial citizen's barometer measurement of a 192 mb drop around Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
in 1904.
Earliest known tornado in Europe
- The earliest recorded tornado in Europe struck Rosdalla, near KilbegganKilbeggan-Geography:Kilbeggan is situated on the River Brosna, in the south of County Westmeath. It lies southeast of Lough Ennell, north of the boundary with County Offaly, about 9 kilometres north of Tullamore. Kilbeggan is surrounded by the gently rolling Esker Riada, the linear sand hills that stretch...
, Ireland on April 30, 1054. The earliest known British tornado hit central LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on October 23, 1091 and was especially destructive.
Earliest known tornado in the Americas
- An apparent tornado is recorded to have struck TlatelolcoTlatelolco (altepetl)Tlatelolco was a pre-Columbian Nahua altepetl in the Valley of Mexico. Its inhabitants were known as Tlatelolca. The Tlatelolca were a part of the Mexica ethnic group, a Nahuatl speaking people who arrived in what is now central Mexico in the 13th century...
(present day Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
), on August 21, 1521, two days before the Aztec capital's fall to CortésHernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
. Many other tornadoes are documented historically within the Basin of Mexico.
First confirmed tornado and first tornado fatality in the U.S.
- August 1671 - Rehoboth, MassachusettsRehoboth, MassachusettsRehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
- July 8, 1680 - Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
- 1 dead
Longest span without a tornado rated F5 or EF5
Before the Greensburg EF5 tornadoMay 2007 Tornado Outbreak
The May 2007 Tornado Outbreak was an extended tornado outbreak that started on May 4, 2007, affecting portions of the Central United States. The most destructive tornado in the outbreak occurred on the evening of May 4 in western Kansas, where about 95% of the city of Greensburg in Kiowa County was...
on May 4, 2007, it had been 8 years and one day since the US has had a confirmed F5 or EF5 tornado. The last confirmed F5 or EF5 hit southern Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
and surrounding communities during the May 3, 1999 event. This is the longest interval without a F5 or EF5 tornado since official records began in 1950.
Longest distance carried by a tornado
Matt Suter of rural Fordland, MissouriFordland, Missouri
Fordland is a city in Webster County, Missouri, United States. The population was 762 at the 2009 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Fordland is located at ....
, according to Thomas P. Grazulis
Thomas P. Grazulis
Thomas P. Grazulis is a meteorologist who has written extensively about tornadoes and is head of the Tornado Project....
, holds the record for the longest known distance traveled by anyone picked up by a tornado who lived to tell about it. On March 12, 2006 he was carried 1307 feet (398 m), according to National Weather Service measurements.
Codell, Kansas
The small town of Codell, KansasCodell, Kansas
Codell is an unincorporated community in Township 12, Rooks County, Kansas, United States. It lies in the middle of the township, south of the city of Stockton and near the southeastern corner of Rooks County. The community lies along the banks of Paradise Creek and an abandoned railroad line...
, was hit by a tornado on the same date three consecutive years. A tornado hit on May 20, 1916, 1917, and 1918. The U.S. has about 100,000 thunderstorms a year; less than 1% produce a tornado. The odds of this coincidence occurring again is extremely small.
Tanner, Alabama
A small town in northern Alabama, TannerTanner, Alabama
Tanner is a small town in central southern Limestone County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. It lies along the Tennessee River, next to the city of Athens....
, was hit by a F5 tornado on April 3, 1974 during the Super Outbreak
Super Outbreak
The Super Outbreak is the second largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the tornado outbreak of April 25–28, 2011...
and was struck again 45 minutes later by at least a high-end F4 (some sources say F5), demolishing what remained of the town. 37 years later, on April 27, 2011, during what some meteorologists have dubbed Super Outbreak II
April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak
An extremely large and violent tornado outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, and popularly known as the 2011 Super Outbreak, occurred from April 25 to 28, 2011. The outbreak affected the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States, leaving catastrophic destruction in...
, Tanner was hit yet again by the EF5 Hackleburg tornado, producing high-end EF4 damage in the southern portion of town.
See also
- Weather records
- List of tropical cyclone extremes
- Tornado mythsTornado mythsDespite the fact that many misconceptions about tornadoes are no longer prevalent, many still remain. This can be attributed to many factors, including stories and news reports told by people unfamiliar with tornadoes, sensationalism by news media and the presentation of incorrect information in...
- List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
- List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of tornado-related deaths at schools