Portal:Tornadoes
Note: Tornadoes are very dangerous and potentially deadly. Always take tornado warnings seriously and immediately seek shelter. |
The Tornadoes Portal
Selected tornado article -
Tornado intensity is the measure of wind speeds and potential risk produced by a tornado. Intensity can be measured by in situ or remote sensing measurements, but since these are impractical for wide-scale use, intensity is usually inferred by proxies, such as damage. The Fujita scale, Enhanced Fujita scale, and the International Fujita scale rate tornadoes by the damage caused. In contrast to other major storms such as hurricanes and typhoons, such classifications are only assigned retroactively. Wind speed alone is not enough to determine the intensity of a tornado. An EF0 tornado may damage trees and peel some shingles off roofs, while an EF5 tornado can rip well-anchored homes off their foundations, leaving them bare— even deforming large skyscrapers. The similar TORRO scale ranges from a T0 for extremely weak tornadoes to T11 for the most powerful known tornadoes. Doppler radar data, photogrammetry, and ground swirl patterns (cycloidal marks) may also be analyzed to determine the intensity and assign a rating.
Tornadoes vary in intensity regardless of shape, size, and location, though strong tornadoes are typically larger than weak tornadoes. The association with track length and duration also varies, although longer-track (and longer-lived) tornadoes tend to be stronger. In the case of violent tornadoes, only a small portion of the path area is of violent intensity; most of the higher intensity is from subvortices. In the United States, 80% of tornadoes are rated EF0 or EF1 (equivalent to T0 through T3). The rate of occurrence drops off quickly with increasing strength; less than 1% are rated as violent (EF4 or EF5, equivalent to T8 through T11). (Full article...)
Selected tornado list -
This is a list of all tornadoes that were confirmed by local offices of the National Weather Service in the United States in September 2011. (Full article...)
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Selected tornado year -
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks that occurred in 2007, primarily (but not entirely) in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally, particularly in parts of neighboring southern Canada during the summer season. Some tornadoes also take place in Europe, e. g. in the United Kingdom or in Germany.
Preliminary reports suggest that there were 1,305 reported tornadoes in the U.S. (of which 1,097 were confirmed), with 81 confirmed fatalities. It was the deadliest year for tornadoes in the U.S. since 1999, when 95 deaths were reported. In addition, three fatalities took place in Mexico, 14 in Chad, one in South Africa, three in Vietnam, one in the Philippines, 25 in China and seven in Bangladesh for a worldwide known total of at least 135. (Full article...)
Related portals
2025 tornado activity
From the evening of May 16, 2024, to midday May 17, 2024, a derecho struck the Gulf Coast of the United States from Southeast Texas to Florida, causing widespread damage, particularly in the city of Houston and surrounding metropolitan area. At least seven people were killed by the storms, dubbed the Houston derecho by the National Weather Service, which brought winds up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) along with four tornadoes. (Full article...)
List of 2024 tornado articles
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Tornado anniversaries
January 23
- 1969 – A long-track F4 tornado traveled more than 100 mi (160 km) across central Mississippi, killing 32 people and injuring 241. The worst damage was in Hazelhurst, where 11 people died and 140 were injured. Damage was otherwise limited to rural areas.
January 24
- 1964 – An F4 tornado destroyed several homes in Harpersville, Alabama, killing 10 people and injuring 6. An F2 tornado injured two others in Marmaduke, Arkansas
- 1967 – An unusually far-north winter tornado outbreak hit the Midwestern United States, killing 7 people. An F4 tornado struck the suburbs of St. Louis, where it killed 3 people, injured 216, and destroyed 168 homes. An F3 tornado killed 2 students at the high school in Orrick, Missouri and injured 18 others.
- 1997 – A tornado outbreak hit the Southeastern United States. An F4 tornado destroyed homes in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, injuring 18 people. An F2 tornado killed 1 person and injured 10 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
January 25
- 2021 – An EF3 tornado hit Fultondale, Alabama, killing one person and injuring 30 others.
Did you know…
- ...that the 2013 Moore tornado that struck Moore and Newcastle, Oklahoma, is the most recent EF5 tornado?
- ...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?
General images -
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A liquor store that was destroyed in the western part of Bowling Green, Kentucky. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
Trees that were completely debarked and denuded near Buckeye, Arkansas. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
A satellite view of the extratropical cyclone that was responsible for the tornado outbreak on December 11. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
Radar collage of a supercell that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
Aerial view of EF3 damage in Mayfield the day after the tornado (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Debris and destroyed homes along Alexander Street in Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
High-end EF3 damage to homes in the Creekwood subdivision in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Numerous fatalities occurred in this area. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
A multi-ton freight car that was thrown from the tracks in Barnsley (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Radar 3D volume scan of the supercell showing debris lofted over 30,000 feet (9.1 km) in the air as the tornado struck Mayfield (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Derecho moving across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa (from December 2021 Midwest derecho and tornado outbreak) -
EF3 damage to businesses in downtown Dresden, Tennessee. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
Low-end EF4 damage to a business in downtown Cayce (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Major structural damage to a house near Hartford (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Widespread destruction in a residential area of Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
High-end EF4 damage to a house in Bremen (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Radar collage of a supercell that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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Featured Article or List -
Although historically the U.S. state of Connecticut is not typically known to fall casualty to tornadoes, more than 100 of these powerful storms have affected the state in modern history, resulting in at least 48 deaths, 780 injuries, and more than $500 million in damage. This list of tornadoes in the state is likely incomplete, as official records date back only to 1950 for tornadoes in the United States.
As with most of the northeastern United States, the number of tornadoes peaks in the summer months, normally in July or August. Hartford County has had the most tornadoes in the state, although since 1950 Litchfield County has reported the most tornadoes. Several areas have been struck more than once, and Waterbury has been struck by no less than four tornadoes since 1955. (Full article...)
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The scope of WikiProject Severe weather is to write articles about severe weather, namely thunderstorms and tornadoes. Their talk page is located here.
WikiProject Weather is the main hub for all articles that are weather-related. WikiProject Weather strives to improve articles in a variety of weather topics, including Tropical Cyclones, Severe Weather, General meteorology, Non-tropical Storms, Climate, Floods, Droughts and wildfires, Meteorological instruments and data, Meteorological Biographies, and Space Weather. If you would like to help, please visit the project talk page.
WikiProject Meteorology is a collaborative effort by dozens of Wikipedians to improve the quality of meteorology- and weather-related articles. If you would like to help, visit the project talk page, and see what needs doing. The project is currently being merged into WikiProject Weather.
WikiProject Tropical cyclones is a daughter project of WikiProject meteorology. The dozens of semi-active members and several full-time members focus on improving Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones.
Wikipedia is a fully collaborative effort by volunteers. So if you see something you think you can improve, be bold and get to editing! We appreciate any help you can provide!
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