Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | 28 July 2005,14:37 BST (UTC+01:00) |
Duration | 20 minutes |
T5 tornado | |
on the TORRO scale | |
Highest winds | 137–160 mph (220–257 km/h) |
Overall effects | |
Casualties | 0 fatalities,39 injuries |
Damage | £40 million(2005) |
Areas affected | Birmingham,United Kingdom |
The 2005 Birmingham tornado was the costliest and one of the strongest tornadoes recorded in Great Britain in nearly 30 years,occurring on 28 July 2005 in the suburbs of Birmingham. It formed on a day when thunderstorms were expected to develop across the Midlands and eastern England. The tornado struck at approximately 14:37 BST in the Sparkbrook area and also affected King's Heath,Moseley and Balsall Heath as it carved a 7 mi (11 km) long path through the city.
While England has more reported tornadoes,relative to its land area,than any other country,the vast majority are weak. According to the Met Office,around 30 tornadoes hit the UK every year,though most are small and dissipate without causing significant damage. [1]
In Birmingham,a tornado struck the city in 1931,killing one woman and severely damaging several houses. [2] On 23 November 1981,during a record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak,two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits –in Erdington and Selly Oak –with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. [3]
The main effects of the July 2005 tornado in Birmingham were felt in the Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook neighbourhoods,which bore the brunt of the damage. On Ladypool Road,several shops had their windows blown out and lost portions of their roofs. Ladypool Primary School was extensively damaged and lost its distinctive Martin &Chamberlain tower. The adjacent St Agatha's Church also suffered some damage. Several rows of homes along Birchwood Road and Alder Road in Balsall Heath had their roofs torn off,and top floor walls torn down. Cars were rolled several meters (yards) down driveways. Along Roshven Road,an end terrace house lost all top floor exterior walls. Christ Church (consecrated in 1867),on the corner of Dolobran Road and Grantham Road in Sparkbrook,was also damaged and has now been demolished. [4] [5]
The Met Office and TORRO (The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation) estimated that the tornado had a general T4 rating on the TORRO scale,with a short spell with T5 damage, [6] which would indicate wind speeds between 137 and 186 mph (220 and 299 km/h), [7] equivalent to an F2 tornado on the Fujita scale.
There were no fatalities,although there were approximately 39 injuries,three of which were reported to be serious. The tornado uprooted an estimated 1,100 trees,removed the roofs of buildings,picked up and deposited cars and caused other damage during its short existence. [8] The tornado is the costliest on record in the UK,having caused £40 million of damage,equivalent to £75 million in 2023. [9]
Three months later,thunderstorms brought a second tornado,which hit less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) away from the original twister. The Met Office said there were winds of up to 80 mph (130 km/h),equivalent to a T2 on the TORRO scale and an F1 on the Fujita Scale,and it was strong enough to rip the roof off a corner house on Dovey Road in Moseley. Following this came widespread flooding across the region which brought havoc to Birmingham. [10]
Balsall Heath is an inner-city area of Birmingham,West Midlands,England. It has a diverse cultural mix of people and is the location of the Balti Triangle.
On April 10–12,1965,a historic severe weather event affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time,this deadly series of tornadoes,which became known as the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak,inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County,Iowa,to Cuyahoga County,Ohio,and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County,Michigan,to Montgomery County,Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks,in terms of tornado strength,ever recorded,including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In all,the outbreak killed 266 people,injured 3,662 others,and caused $1.217 billion in damage. In 2023,tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis created the outbreak intensity score (OIS) as a way to rank various tornado outbreaks. The 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak received an OIS of 238,making it the third worst tornado outbreak in recorded history.
The Windsor Locks,Connecticut tornado struck the towns of Windsor,Windsor Locks,and Suffield,Connecticut,and Feeding Hills,Massachusetts,on Wednesday,October 3,1979. The short-lived but intense tornado struck without warning and caused three deaths and 500 injuries along its 11.3-mile (18.2 km) track. It received a rating of F4 on the Fujita scale,one of only three F4 tornadoes in Connecticut's history.
An extremely rare wintertime tornado outbreak affected the Midwestern United States on January 24,1967. Of the 30 confirmed tornadoes,13 occurred in Iowa,nine in Missouri,seven in Illinois,and one in Wisconsin. The outbreak produced,at the time,the northernmost tornado to hit the United States in winter,in Wisconsin,until January 7,2008. The tornadoes formed ahead of a deep storm system in which several temperature records were broken. The deadliest and most damaging tornado of the outbreak struck Greater St. Louis at F4 intensity,killing three people and injuring 216.
The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda has been affected by several tornadoes and waterspouts in its history.
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 may also be analyzed to determine the intensity and assign a rating.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2003. 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,and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather,including strong thunderstorms,strong winds,and hail.
A violent severe weather outbreak struck the Southeast on April 4–5,1977. A total of 22 tornadoes touched down with the strongest ones occurring in Mississippi,Alabama,and Georgia. The strongest was a catastrophic F5 tornado that struck the northern Birmingham,Alabama,suburbs during the afternoon of Monday,April 4. In addition to this tornado,several other tornadoes were reported from the same system in the Midwest,Alabama,Georgia,Mississippi and North Carolina. One tornado in Floyd County,Georgia,killed one person,and another fatality was reported east of Birmingham in St. Clair County. In the end,the entire outbreak directly caused 24 deaths and 158 injuries. The storm system also caused the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242,which killed 72 and injured 22.
A series of destructive severe thunderstorms struck southeastern Queensland,Australia,on 29 November 1992. The storms produced strong winds,flash flooding and large hailstones in the region,including the capital city of Brisbane. The storms also spawned two of the most powerful tornadoes recorded in Australia,including the only Australian tornado to be given an official 'F4' classification on the Fujita scale and the last violent tornado in Australia until 21 March 2013.
On March 21–22,1932,a deadly tornado outbreak struck the Midwestern and Southern United States. At least 38 tornadoes—including 27 deadly tornadoes and several long-lived tornado families—struck the Deep South,killing more than 330 people and injuring 2,141. Tornadoes affected areas from Mississippi north to Illinois and east to South Carolina,but Alabama was hardest hit,with 268 fatalities;the outbreak is considered to be the deadliest ever in Alabama,and among the worst ever in the United States,trailing only the Tri-State tornado outbreak in 1925,with 751 fatalities,and the Tupelo–Gainesville outbreak in 1936,with 454 fatalities. The 1932 outbreak is believed to have produced 10 violent tornadoes,eight of which occurred in Alabama alone.
The 1925 Miami tornado was an intense tornado that struck Dade County,Florida,on April 5,1925. It remains the deadliest tornado to affect the South Florida county,and it is estimated to have been the most intense tornado to strike the Miami area. The tornado caused five deaths and produced damage totals that were estimated near $200–300,000 (1925 USD). 35 people were also hospitalized because of injuries. The tornado remains the only tornado to cause multiple fatalities in Dade County. While officially unrated,it is estimated that the tornado likely produced F3-level damage based on photographs taken after the passage of the supercell.
On December 18–20,1957,a significant tornado outbreak sequence affected the southern Midwest and the South of the contiguous United States. The outbreak sequence began on the afternoon of December 18,when a low-pressure area approached the southern portions of Missouri and Illinois. Supercells developed and proceeded eastward at horizontal speeds of 40 to 45 miles per hour,yielding what was considered the most severe tornado outbreak in Illinois on record so late in the calendar year. Total losses in the state were estimated to fall within the range of $8–$10 million.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2013. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States,Bangladesh,Brazil and Eastern India,but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season,and somewhat regularly in Europe,Asia,and Australia.
On Friday,May 5,1961,a strong tornado impacted the city of St. Petersburg,Florida. The tornado,which only touched down briefly,was estimated to have produced F2 damage on the Fujita scale. It struck the Northeast High School and the nearby Meadowlawn neighborhood in the extreme northern part of St. Petersburg,traveling 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) and producing a 50-yard-wide (46 m) path. The tornado was part of a much larger outbreak sequence that produced 73 tornadoes. The parent thunderstorm that spawned the tornado was also attended by 3⁄4-inch-diameter (1.9 cm) hail.
The following is a glossary of tornado terms. It includes scientific as well as selected informal terminology.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 1973,but mostly features events in the United States. According to tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis,documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive,owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and,in some cases,to internal political controls on public information. Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life. Consequently,available documentation in 1973 mainly covered the United States. On average,most recorded tornadoes,including the vast majority of significant—F2 or stronger—tornadoes,form in the U.S.,although as many as 500 may take place internationally. Some locations,like Bangladesh,are as prone to violent tornadoes as the U.S.,meaning F4 or greater events on the Fujita scale.
On Thursday,September 29,1927,an outbreak of at least 15 significant tornadoes,including three F3 tornadoes,killed at least 82 people in the Central United States,particularly in Missouri and Illinois. The outbreak affected a broad expanse of the Midwestern and Southern United States,including Oklahoma,Missouri,Arkansas,Iowa,Illinois,and Indiana. The deadliest tornado was an estimated F3 which affected portions of Greater St. Louis,killing at least 79 people and injuring at least 550 others. The tornado narrowly missed Downtown St. Louis,striking north of the central business district before crossing the Mississippi River.
On November 7–8,1957,a significant tornado outbreak affected portions of the Southern United States,particularly the Golden Triangle of Southeast Texas and parts of Acadiana in Louisiana. The severe weather event inflicted 12 deaths and more than 200 injuries,especially in the vicinity of Beaumont and Port Arthur,Texas. The most intense tornado of the outbreak,retrospectively rated F4 on the Fujita scale,struck the town of Orange,Texas,killing one person,injuring 81 others,and causing $11⁄2 million in losses. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was an F3 that killed four people northwest of Carencro,Louisiana. The costliest tornado of the outbreak,also rated F3,caused $2.3 million in losses in the town of Groves,Texas,killing a few people there. Other intense tornadoes occurred as far east as Mississippi and North Carolina. In all,at least 28 tornadoes were confirmed,yet others were likely present as well.
Several destructive tornadoes struck the Southeastern United States,primarily along and east of the Lower Mississippi Valley,on February 13,1952. Multiple intense tornadoes touched down throughout the day,three of which were killers. The deadliest and most destructive tornado of the outbreak was a violent F4 that touched down in south-central Tennessee,killing three people and injuring 44 others. A similarly destructive tornado—albeit of weaker,F2 intensity—formed from the same storm as the preceding F4 and became the second costliest of the outbreak. Another intense tornado affected the Mississippi embayment near Manila,Arkansas,injuring five people,and a pair of deadly F3s in Alabama claimed a combined two lives. In all,the outbreak killed five people and injured 102 others.
This is a list of notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2023. Strong,destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States,Argentina,Brazil,Bangladesh and East India,but can occur almost anywhere. Tornadoes develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer,and at other times of the year across Europe,Asia,Argentina,Australia and New Zealand. They are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather,including thunderstorms,strong winds,and large hail. Worldwide,116 tornado-related deaths were confirmed –83 in the United States,12 in China,nine in Indonesia,eight in Myanmar,three in Turkey,and one in Saudi Arabia.
ITN News report on the Birmingham tornado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPtdu6zLh8E