Portal:Tornadoes
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The Tornadoes Portal
Selected tornado article -
The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. Over 175 tornadoes struck Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, which were the most severely damaged states. Other destructive tornadoes occurred in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, and Virginia, with storms also affecting other states in the Southern and Eastern United States. In total, 367 tornadoes were confirmed by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) and Government of Canada's Environment Canada in 21 states from Texas to New York to southern Canada. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak. April 27 was the most active day, with a record 223 tornadoes touching down that day from midnight to midnight CDT (05:00–05:00 UTC). Four of the tornadoes were rated EF5, which is the highest ranking on the Enhanced Fujita scale; typically these tornadoes are recorded no more than once a year.
In total, 348 people were killed as a result of the outbreak, including 324 tornado-related deaths across six states and 24 fatalities caused by other thunderstorm-related events such as straight-line winds, hail, flash flooding or lightning. In Alabama alone, 238 tornado-related deaths were confirmed by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and the state's Emergency Management Agency. April 27's 316 fatalities were the most tornado-related fatalities in the United States in a single day since the "Tri-State" outbreak on March 18, 1925 (when at least 751 people were killed). Nearly 500 preliminary local storm reports were received for tornadoes over four days, including 292 in 16 states on April 27 alone. This event was the costliest tornado outbreak in United States history, with total damage reaching $10.2 billion (equivalent to $14 billion in 2023). In 2023, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis created the outbreak intensity score (OIS) as a way to rank various tornado outbreaks. The 2011 Super Outbreak received an OIS of 378, making it the second most intense tornado outbreak in recorded history behind only the 1974 Super Outbreak. (Full article...)
Selected tornado list -
This is the list of tornadoes confirmed that occurred during the record-breaking 1974 Super Outbreak tornado event that occurred on April 3–4, 1974 across the eastern half of the United States and in Ontario, Canada.
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Selected tornado year -
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1968, 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. Two F5 tornadoes struck Iowa in the Charles City and Maynard areas, combined they claimed 18 lives and this was one of very few cases in history where two F5 or EF5 tornadoes hit the same state, on the same day.
(Full article...)Related portals
2025 tornado activity
A large and robust storm system, unofficially named Winter Storm Finn by The Weather Channel, brought widespread impacts to much of the contiguous United States early in January 2024. In the northern United States, heavy snow, hail, and gusty winds affected areas from the Great Plains to New England. In the southern United States, a widespread tornado outbreak along the Gulf Coast caused two fatalities and numerous injuries. (Full article...)
Tornado anniversaries
February 4
- 1971 – A small tornado outbreak affected parts of the southern and Midwestern United States. An F2 tornado killed seven people in a single trailer near Gore Springs, Mississippi. An F3 tornado caused damage in Sugar Bend, Dime, and Bear Creek, Alabama, killing one person and injuring 14.
February 5
- 2008 – The first day of the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak impacted the southeastern United States and Ohio Valley, killing 48 people. A EF3 tornado killed 22 people as it moved through Castalian Springs, Hartsville, and Lafayette, Tennessee. A long-track EF4 tornado traveled 122 miles across multiple communities in Arkansas, killing 13 people and injuring 140. Nine others were killed by tornadoes on February 6.
February 6
- 1942 – A tornado outbreak that started on February 5 continued overnight and into the day. A total of 18 people were killed across the Southeastern United States. An F3 tornado killed six people in Meriwether County, Georgia. A family of two tornadoes killed another six people in Jasper County, Georgia and injured 70.
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 multi-ton freight car that was thrown from the tracks in Barnsley (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Low-end EF4 damage to a business in downtown Cayce (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
Radar collage of a supercell that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
A liquor store that was destroyed in the western part of Bowling Green, Kentucky. (from Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021) -
EF3 damage to businesses in downtown Dresden, Tennessee. (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) -
Radar collage of a supercell that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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Major structural damage to a house near Hartford (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) -
Aerial view of EF3 damage in Mayfield the day after the tornado (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) -
Debris and destroyed homes along Alexander Street in Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado) -
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) -
Derecho moving across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa (from December 2021 Midwest derecho and tornado outbreak) -
Widespread destruction in a residential area of Dawson Springs (from 2021 Western Kentucky tornado)
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Featured Article or List -
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2006. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, Brazil and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
In 2006, there were 1,333 reported tornadoes in the US (of which 1,103 tornadoes were confirmed), with 67 reported fatalities (about half of those recorded in Tennessee). In addition, four other tornado-related deaths were reported in Europe - all of them in Germany where 119 tornadoes were confirmed, 12 deaths in Japan, nine deaths in China, three deaths in Vietnam, one death in Brazil, and one tornado fatality has been reported in Canada, in the province of Manitoba for a worldwide total of 97. (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.
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