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 1986, 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

The 1986 tornado season saw a record low for fatalities with just 15. The next closest was 2009 with 21 fatalities. There were no F5 tornadoes in 1986, and just three rated F4, none of which resulted in any fatalities. Overall tornado numbers were not bad, and in fact were higher than 1987.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1986 in the United States.

February

There were 30 tornadoes confirmed in the US in February. On February 5th, an F3 tornado killed two people in Harris County, Texas.

March

There were 76 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March. An outbreak of tornadoes March 10-12 killed six people in Alabama, Indiana and Ohio. One tornado rated F4 in Mississippi resulted in no fatalities.

April

There were 84 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April. On the morning of April 19th, an F3 tornado struck Sweetwater, Texas resulting in one death and one hundred injuries.

July

There were 88 tornadoes confirmed in the US in July. On July 2nd, an F2 tornado killed three in Onslow County, North Carolina. This would be the most people killed by a single tornado in 1986. On July 28th, an F4 tornado struck Nebraska and Iowa (near Sioux City), resulting in no fatalities.

September

There were 65 tornadoes confirmed in the US in September. On September 28th, an F4 tornado struck Iowa resulting in no fatalities.

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1986 - Tornado History Project
• Tornado deaths monthly