Portal:Tornadoes

Selected tornado article - show another

On February 10–11, 2009, a broad-scale damaging wind event and small tornado outbreak affected the Central and Eastern United States. During the two-day period, 14 tornadoes touched down in seven states. Oklahoma was struck by six tornadoes, the most of any state. The six tornadoes in Oklahoma also tied the record for the most tornadoes ever recorded in the state during the month of February, which would later be broken in 2023. The first day of the outbreak produced the most tornadoes; the second brought mainly high wind damage and rain or snow in most of the Northeast.

The storm system responsible for the tornado outbreak resulted from the unusual congruence of a cold, dry system, originating in the Four Corners and a warm, moist system, moving north out of Texas. Complicating factors included daytime heating and a strong wind field favorable to the creation of circulating thunderstorms. On the second day, the stronger cold front limited discrete supercell activity and the risk of tornadoes decreased significantly. A squall line, however, produced high winds and rain along the river valleys, primarily those of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. A tight pressure-gradient behind the cold front led to a large area of damaging non-thunderstorm winds across the Midwest and Ohio Valley. This squall line continued to renew its energy as it passed through the Midwest, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England, causing wind and water damage, and dumping 6 inches (15 cm) of snow in central and eastern Massachusetts. The resulting power outages affected homes throughout the northeastern seaboard. (Full article... )

Selected tornado list - show another

This page documents all tornadoes confirmed by various weather forecast offices of the National Weather Service in the United States from April to June 2021. On average, there are 155 confirmed tornadoes in the United States in April, 276 confirmed tornadoes in May, and 243 confirmed tornadoes in June.

Overall, the spring and early summer period was below average for tornado activity in the United States and most tornadoes were weak. April was well below average with only 80 tornadoes. May saw quite a few more tornadoes than April and was near average with 259 tornadoes but with no EF3 or stronger tornadoes. June was also significantly below average with 106 tornadoes. (Full article... )

Selected image - show another

Selected tornado year - show another

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1982, primarily in the United States. 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. (Full article... )

Related portals

2025 tornado activity

A significant tornado outbreak, along with a derecho, affected much of the Midwestern and Southeastern United States from April 1 to 3, 2024. The National Weather Service issued dozens of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings across those regions during the event. The outbreak first began over portions of the Great Plains and Midwest on April 1, with widespread large hail and damaging winds and a few tornadoes being reported. The outbreak then spread to the Midwest and Ohio Valley on April 2, where the derecho occurred. This was followed by supercell development later in the afternoon. Severe storms also affected parts of the Mid-Atlantic on April 3 as well. A total of 32 million people were estimated to be under watches or warnings, and over 700,000 people were estimated to be without power. Twenty-five people were injured; and five people were killed, all of them by non-tornadic events; three of which happened when downed trees fell onto vehicles in Pennsylvania and New York. The storm system was also responsible for causing flooding in parts of the Northeast, and heavy snow over parts of the Midwest and Northern New England.

The Storm Prediction Center first outlined on April 1 an enhanced risk in areas from north Texas to eastern Illinois, encompassing much of the central United States. In the afternoon hours of the same day, supercell thunderstorms began to develop across northern Texas, moving northeastward and producing large hail. As the event progressed, many tornadic supercells produced brief and weak tornadoes along with high wind gusts; a gust of 90 mph (140 km/h) was recorded in West Virginia, classifying the squall line as a derecho. The National Weather Service declared the tornado outbreak "historic", stating that not only did it set a daily record for West Virginia, but also broke the yearly record, in one day. Ten tornadoes occurred in West Virginia; which also set a state record for the most tornadoes confirmed in a single day. The previous record was seven; set on both April 4, 1974 and June 2, 1998. (Full article... )

Tornado anniversaries

March 8

• 1871 – An F3 tornado moved through East St. Louis, Illinois after crossing the Mississippi River, killing nine people. Six railroad depots and about 30 homes were destroyed.
• 1909 – An F4 tornado devastated Brinkley, Arkansas. More than 800 buildings, including 260 homes, were destroyed and more than 2,000 were damaged. In all, 49 people killed, including 7 people in nearby rural areas. Entire families were killed. Other tornadoes killed 18 people across Arkansas.

March 9

• 1901 – A tornado outbreak resulted in 14 deaths across the Central United States, with three tornadoes accounting for most of the fatalities. An F3 tornado killed four people in Wills Point, Texas, where 20 homes were unroofed or destroyed. Another F3 tornado killed four people near Forrest City, Arkansas. An F2 tornado killed four more people near Paragould, Arkansas and destroyed 10 of the 12 homes in the community of "Jackson."

March 10

• 1876 – Several strong tornadoes struck the Midwestern United States. An F3 tornado destroyed much of Hazel Green, Wisconsin, killing 9 people and injuring 50. Homes were "ground finer than grist from the mills of the Gods" and debris was carried up to 8 mi (13 km). An F4 tornado killed 14 people across Monroe, Ralls, and Marion counties, Missouri.
• 1973 – A tornado outbreak affected parts of the Southern United States with the worst damage in Texas. An F4 tornado destroyed much of Hubbard, Texas, killing 6 people and injuring 77. An F3 tornado damaged or destroyed about 200 buildings in Burnet, Texas, injuring 40 people.

Did you know...

• ...that the 2013 Moore tornado that struck Moore and Newcastle, Oklahoma, is the most recent EF5 tornado as of March 2025?
• ...that the 2021 South Moravia tornado, an IF4 tornado with winds between 207–260 mph (333–418 km/h), was the strongest tornado to hit the Czech Republic in modern history?
• ...that five of the six people killed in the 2011 Cullman–Arab tornado were members of the same family?
• ...that Picher, Oklahoma, was hit so hard by a tornado in 2008 that it would become a ghost town in 2015?
• ...that the 2022 Andover tornado injured only three people, despite damaging more than 1,000 buildings?

General images - load new batch

• Commons
  Free media repository

• Wikibooks
  Free textbooks and manuals

• Wikidata
  Free knowledge base

• Wikinews
  Free-content news

• Wikiquote
  Collection of quotations

• Wikisource
  Free-content library

• Wikiversity
  Free learning tools

• Wikivoyage
  Free travel guide

• Wiktionary
  Dictionary and thesaurus