This page documents the tornado

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...

es and 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...

s of 1984, primarily in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 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.

Synopsis

1984 was a very busy and deadly year for tornadoes. There were 907 tornadoes recorded, including 15 of F4 or greater strength, the most this powerful since 1976. A total of 122 people were killed in 1984, the most since 1974, and a mark that wouldn't again be surpassed until 1998. The most notable tornado events included the deadly March 28 Carolinas outbreak, and the killer F5 tornado which hit Barneveld, Wisconsin on June 7.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1984 in the United States.

March

There were 73 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March. On March 15, an F4 tornado in Arkansas killed five people. A separate F4 tornado killed two more people on this day in Arkansas.

March 28

The 1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak of March 28, 1984 was the most destructive tornado outbreak to sweep through the two states since the Enigma tornado outbreak struck 100 years and 1 month earlier, according to NOAA and NCDC public records. 24 tornadoes (seven of F4 strength) resulted in 57 fatalities and over one thousand injuries.

April

There were 176 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April. On April 21, an F3 tornado in Mississippi killed 15 people. On April 26, an F3 tornado in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma killed eight people. A separate tornado (rated F4) killed three more people in Oklahoma on this day. April 26 also saw one killed in Minnesota by a tornado, while April 27 saw four killed in Wisconsin and Illinois.

May

There were 169 tornadoes confirmed in the US in May. On May 3, an F3 tornado killed five people in Alabama.

June 7

The 1984 Barneveld, Wisconsin tornado outbreak is a significant severe weather and tornado event that took place across the central United States from North Dakota to Kansas on June 7–8, 1984. The tornado outbreak produced several significant tornadoes including an F5 tornado which traveled through Barneveld, Wisconsin in the early hours of June 8, 1984. The entire outbreak killed at least 13 people across three states including 9 in Barneveld alone.

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1984 - Tornado History Project
• Tornado deaths monthly