Draft:2015 Xanxerê tornado
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During the afternoon of April 20, 2015, a significant tornado struck the municipalities of Xanxerê and Ponte Serrada, in Santa Catarina, killing 4 people, and injuring more than 100 others, causing catastrophic widespread damage.[1] Considered as the most well documented tornado in Brazil's history[note 1] , rated as high-end F2 by various sources and meteorologists in the Fujita scale, although, some sources consider it as F3.[2] [note 2]
| A view of the tornado as it passes straight through Xanxerê | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 April 2015 |
| Formed | 3:00 pm (UTC-3) |
| Dissipated | ~3:30 pm (UTC-3) |
| Duration | 30 minutes[3] |
| F2 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Max width | 500m (550yd) |
| Path length | 4.9km (3.0mi)[4] |
| Highestwinds | 250km/h (160mph) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Injuries | >120[5] |
| Damage | ~R$100 million (~135,830,000ドル in 2025 USD) |
Areas affected | Xanxerê, Ponte Serrada, Santa Catarina |
Part of the Tornadoes of 2015 | |
Meteorological synopsis
[edit ]The formation of the tornado was connected to a specific combination of atmospheric conditions, including a low-pressure system above north Argentina and Paraguay, with intense transport of hot and humid air to south Brazil, with the influence of a subtropical jet stream in high levels. These factors contributed to a very unstable ambient, with strong vertical wind shear, resulting in the formation of this tornado.[1]
Impacts
[edit ]Aftermath
[edit ]Other tornadoes
[edit ]| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Besides the Xanxerê tornado, another tornado also was formed in the same day.
| F# | Location | Country | Start coord. | Time (UTC-3) | Path length | Max width | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Ponte Serrada | Santa Catarina | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Another tornado was produced in the same day. | |||||||
See also
[edit ]Notes
[edit ]- ↑ As of June 2026, the most documented tornado is the 2025 Rio Bonito do Iguaçu tornado, due to the large availability of recordings and information of the event
- ↑ The rating of this tornado is very controversial as some sources use high-end F2 and others use F3, to prevent confusion, the F3 rating will be used.
- ↑ All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.
References
[edit ]- 1 2 "Tornado atinge duas cidades em Santa Catarina; prejuízos já somam quase R$ 20 milhões". Confederação Nacional de Municípios (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ "Tornados em SC: Relembre os 4 Casos EF3 com mortes e destruição". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 12 November 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ "A cidade brasileira que foi partida ao meio pela força inacreditável de um tornado em 2015". 18 May 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ "Integrated damage, visual, remote sensing, and environmental analysis of a strong tornado in southern Brazil". Atmospheric Research. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ "Características Meteorológicas do Ambiente Sinótico e de Meseoescala Associadas ao Evento de Tornado na Cidade de Xanxerê – SC, em Abril de 2015". 30 July 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2026.