Portal:Tornadoes

From May 18–21, 2013, a significant tornado outbreak took place across parts of the Midwestern United States and lower Great Plains. This event occurred just days after a deadly outbreak struck Texas and surrounding southern states on May 15. On May 16, a slow moving trough crossed the Rockies and traversed the western Great Plains. Initially, activity was limited to scattered severe storms; however, by May 18, the threat for organized severe thunderstorms and tornadoes greatly increased. A few tornadoes touched down that day in Kansas and Nebraska, including an EF4 tornado near Rozel, Kansas. Maintaining its slow eastward movement, the system produced another round of severe weather nearby. Activity significantly increased on May 19, with tornadoes confirmed in Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. In Oklahoma, two strong tornadoes, one rated EF4, caused significant damage in rural areas of the eastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area; two people lost their lives in Shawnee. The most dramatic events unfolded on May 20 as a large EF5 tornado devastated parts of Moore, Oklahoma, with 24 people being killed. Thousands of structures were destroyed, with many being completely flattened. Several other tornadoes occurred during the day in areas further eastward, though the majority were weak and caused little damage.

The severe threat shifted towards damaging straight-line winds on May 21 as a large squall line developed across the southern states. Further north in Ontario, three tornadoes, including one that was rated EF2, touched down. Over the following five days, the system responsible for the outbreak moved very little across the Eastern United States. By May 24, it virtually stalled off the coast of New England, resulting in several days of heavy rain across the region. It later moved northeastward and was last noted by the Weather Prediction Center late on May 26 over southeastern Canada. During the storm's eleven-day trek across the United States, it produced 75 tornadoes, 4 of which were rated EF3 or higher. Over 1,000 reports of damaging winds were received by the Storm Prediction Center as well. The system's slow movement also resulted in record-breaking rains in North Dakota, New York, and Vermont. Additionally, during the overnight of May 25 – 26, unusually cold air behind the cyclone resulting in record-late snows across northern New England. (Full article...)

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1975, 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...)

April 17

• 1922 – Twenty people were killed across Illinois and Indiana by a tornado outbreak. An F4 tornado killed 11 people in Hedrick, Indiana after undergoing "rapid and unexpected growth" and two others near Ogden, Illinois. Another F4 tornado swept away homes in Madison and Delaware counties, Indiana, killing 3 people, and carried a postcard 124 miles (200 km).

April 18

• 1880 - A major tornado outbreak killed at least 165 people, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Most of the deaths were from two long-track F4 tornadoes that carved parallel tracks across southern Missouri. The first killed 31 people on a 93 mi (150 km) long path from near Rocky Comfort to near Grove Spring and passing through McDowell. The second devastated Marshfield, destroying all but 15 buildings and killing 92 people in town out of a population of 1,100. The same tornado killed 7 others at Boaz. Another F4 tornado destroyed Barnettsville, Missouri, killing 8 people in town and 6 others elsewhere along its path.
• 1970 – An F4 tornado passed near Clarendon, Texas, killing at least 16 people (Thomas P. Grazulis lists 17 deaths). Thirteen of those deaths were in the mobile home community of Sherwood Shores, where all but one of 172 trailers were destroyed.

April 19

• 1882 – An F3 tornado destroyed much of Brownsville, Missouri (now Sweet Springs), killing 11 people. Debris was carried at least 2 miles (3.2 km).
• 1927 – A tornado outbreak in the Southern and Midwestern United States continued overnight and into the afternoon from the previous day. A long-track F4 tornado killed 11 people near Hardin, Carrollton, Wrights, Athensville, and Loami, Illinois. Another long-track F4 tornado killed 10 people along its path and destroyed the northern half of Cornland, Illinois.
• 1968 – A short-lived F4 tornado, lasting only 4 minutes, destroyed most of Greenwood, Arkansas, which was "reduced to matchsticks and kindling." Fourteen people were killed and 270 were injured.

• ...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?

The following are images from various tornado-related articles on Wikipedia.