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.
From May 21 to May 26,2011,one of the largest tornado outbreaks on record affected the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. A six-day tornado outbreak sequence,most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas,while isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas. An especially destructive EF5 tornado destroyed one-third of Joplin,Missouri,resulting in 158 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The Joplin tornado was the deadliest in the United States since April 9,1947,when an intense tornado killed 181 in the Woodward,Oklahoma,area. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Arkansas,Kansas,Minnesota,and Oklahoma. Overall,the tornado outbreak resulted in 186 deaths,8 of those non-tornadic,making it second only to the 2011 Super Outbreak as the deadliest since 1974. It was the second costliest tornado outbreak in United States history behind that same April 2011 outbreak,with insured damage estimated at $4–7 billion.
The tornado outbreak of June 16–18,2014, was a tornado outbreak concentrated in the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. Two tornadoes also occurred in Ontario. The severe weather event most significantly affected the state of Nebraska,where twin EF4 tornadoes killed two and critically injured twenty others in and around the town of Pilger on the evening of June 16. The two Pilger tornadoes were part of a violent tornado family that produced four EF4 tornadoes and was broadcast live on television. The outbreak went on to produce multiple other strong tornadoes across the northern Great Plains states throughout the next two days.
A significant four-day outbreak of tornadoes impacted areas across the High Plains,central Midwest,and parts of the Ohio Valley in early May. The outbreak also produced the first EF4 tornado of the year in Katie,Oklahoma on May 9,where one death occurred. An EF3 tornado near Connerville,Oklahoma also killed a person that day. Other notable tornadoes included two large EF2 tornadoes in Colorado on May 7,a large EF2 tornado near Catherine,Kansas on May 8,and a destructive EF3 tornado that struck Mayfield,Kentucky on May 10. Overall,57 tornadoes were confirmed.
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 2019 was a prolonged series of destructive tornadoes and tornado outbreaks affecting the United States over the course of nearly two weeks,producing a total of 400 tornadoes,including 53 significant events (EF2+). Eighteen of these were EF3 tornadoes,spanning over multiple states,including Nebraska,Kansas,Texas,Missouri,Oklahoma,Indiana,Iowa,and Ohio,with additional tornadoes confirmed across a region extending from California to New Jersey. Two EF4 tornadoes occurred,one in Dayton,Ohio,and the other in Linwood,Kansas. Four tornadoes during this outbreak were fatal,causing a total of eight fatalities. The deadliest of these occurred on May 22 near Golden City,Missouri,where an EF3 tornado took three lives,including an elderly couple in their eighties. The damaging series of tornadoes that occurred in Indiana and Ohio on the evening of May 27 during this event is sometimes locally referred to as the Memorial Day tornado outbreak of 2019,which became the fourth costliest weather event in Ohio history. The near continuous stream of systems also produced to widespread flash and river flooding,along with damaging winds and large hail.
A significant tornado outbreak sequence took place from March 24–28,2021 in the Southern United States,just one week after another outbreak affected similar regions. There were 43 tornadoes confirmed across 11 states,with the bulk of activity primarily on March 25,which resulted in the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issuing its second high-risk outlook for the month of March,as well as the second high-risk outlook for 2021. Several intense tornadoes touched down on that day,including ones that prompted the issuance of rare tornado emergencies near Hoover,Alabama,Brent and Centreville,Alabama,and in the Newnan,Georgia area. March 27 also saw widespread tornado activity mainly across East Texas,Southern Arkansas,Louisiana,and Western Tennessee with several strong tornadoes touching down. Scattered to widespread wind and hail damage occurred throughout the outbreak sequence,and repeated rounds of heavy rain caused widespread severe flash and river flooding across much of Tennessee.
On the afternoon of March 3,2019,a violent and long-tracked EF4 tornado struck portions of eastern Alabama and western Georgia,causing extreme damage along its path. This tornado was the deadliest tornado in the United States since the 2013 Moore tornado,killing 23 and injuring 97. This tornado was part of a larger tornado outbreak that affected the Southeastern United States on this same day. This outbreak produced numerous tornadoes across Alabama and Georgia. This was the deadliest and strongest tornado of this outbreak,and the 8th deadliest in Alabama state history.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2022. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States,Argentina,Brazil,Bangladesh,and Eastern India,but 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,Australia and New Zealand. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather,including strong thunderstorms,strong winds,and hail. Worldwide,32 tornado-related deaths were confirmed:23 in the United States,three in China,two each in Poland and Russia,and one each in the Netherlands and Ukraine.
From April 4–5,2022,a mesoscale convective system and numerous discrete supercells produced a swath of severe weather and several tornadoes in the Southeastern United States,including several strong,long tracked tornadoes. An EF3 tornado damaged or destroyed several homes in Bonaire,Georgia while a large EF3 tornado prompted a tornado emergency for Allendale and Sycamore,South Carolina. A violent EF4 tornado in Black Creek,Georgia resulted in one fatality as it destroyed several neighborhoods,and another large EF3 tornado caused widespread heavy tree damage northeast of Ulmer,South Carolina. More severe storms occurred across a large portion of the Southeast ahead of a cold front on April 6–7,with more tornadoes reported in South and Central Georgia and further south into Florida,all of which were weak. Along with the one tornadic death,trees felled by straight-line winds killed one person each in Louisiana and Texas.
A significant late-season tornado outbreak took place on November 4,2022,across Northeast Texas,southwestern Arkansas,southeastern Oklahoma,and northwestern Louisiana with multiple large,destructive tornadoes occurring over a span of several hours. Major damage was reported in Sulphur Springs,Powderly,Caviness,Paris,Cason,Daingerfield,Athens,New Boston,Texas,and Idabel,Oklahoma,with the latter two communities being placed under tornado emergencies. Two fatalities occurred in Cason,Texas,and Pickens,Oklahoma respectively. Numerous PDS tornado warnings were issued as well. An additional tornado embedded within a narrow,but intense line of showers with damaging winds was also confirmed in Illinois the following morning as the system progressed eastward. Strong winds affected most of the western Great Lakes throughout the day before moving into Canada that evening. Two fatalities and at least 34 injuries were confirmed from tornadoes,and an additional fatality occurred near Stilwell,Oklahoma from drowning.
On March 24,2023,a severe weather and tornado outbreak began across portions of the lower Mississippi River Valley in the United States. A slow-moving trough moved eastward across the United States and interacted with a moist and unstable airmass originating from the Gulf of Mexico,resulting in widespread heavy rainfall,severe thunderstorms,and significant tornadoes over a four-day period. A violent high-end EF4 tornado moved through the towns of Rolling Fork,Midnight,and Silver City in western Mississippi,causing catastrophic damage and many fatalities. Multiple tornado emergencies were issued for that tornado and two subsequent EF3 tornadoes from the same supercell that struck Winona and Amory.
Throughout the afternoon hours of April 26,2024,a large,violent,and destructive tornado impacted parts of the communities of Waterloo,Elkhorn,Bennington,and Blair,Nebraska,injuring four people. The tornado was the first of two EF4 tornadoes during the tornado outbreak of April 25–28,2024. The tornado reached peak intensity in the neighborhood of Elkhorn and south of the city of Blair,leading the National Weather Service in Omaha,Nebraska to assign a rating of low-end EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale,with maximum wind speeds estimated at 170 mph (270 km/h).
From April 25 to 28,2024,a very large,deadly and destructive tornado outbreak occurred across the Midwestern,Southern,and High Plains regions of the United States,primarily on April 26 and 27. On April 26,the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) first issued an enhanced risk for the Plains,as a broad upper-trough moved eastwards,with strong tornadic activity erupting in the states of Nebraska,Iowa,and Kansas later that day. A high-end EF3 tornado struck the northeastern outskirts of Lincoln,Nebraska in Lancaster County,injuring three people. A long-tracked low-end EF4 tornado caused widespread severe damage in Elkhorn and near Bennington and Blair,and prompted the issuance of two tornado emergencies. Another EF3 tornado moved through parts of both Omaha and Council Bluffs,Iowa as well as points northeast,injuring four more people. Another long-tracked EF3 tornado moved directly through Minden,Iowa,killing one person and injuring three others,prompting the issuance of two more tornado emergencies. An EF2 tornado also moved through Pleasant Hill just southeast of Des Moines,injuring one person.
A large,major,and deadly tornado outbreak occurred across the Central and Southern United States from May 6–10,2024,as a result of a slow-moving trough that was moving across the country. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a tornado-driven high risk convective outlook for portions of central Oklahoma and extreme southern Kansas early on May 6. Millions of people were put under a particularly dangerous situation (PDS) tornado watch later that evening,as many tornadoes were reported across the region,particularly in Oklahoma,where a violent EF4 tornado struck the towns of Barnsdall and Bartlesville,Oklahoma. Severe and tornadic weather spread eastward over the Mississippi,Ohio,and Tennessee Valleys over the next two days,with a nocturnal outbreak occurring in the latter on May 8,as tornadic supercell thunderstorms produced many tornadoes across the states of Tennessee,northern Alabama and western Georgia. The system responsible for the outbreak finally moved offshore by May 10 after producing several more tornadoes across the Southeast,including two EF2 tornadoes and hurricane-strength straight-line winds that moved through Tallahassee. This large outbreak came less than two weeks after a similarly large and deadly outbreak occurred across most of the same regions.
On the night of December 26,2015,a violent EF4 tornado struck the Dallas suburbs of Sunnyvale,Garland,and Rowlett. It caused $20-26 million in damages,killed 10 people,making it the deadliest tornado in the United States in 2015,and injured 468 others. This was the third tornado to be rated an EF4 in the United States that year and the fourth such tornado worldwide.
The 2013 Granbury tornado was a violent and destructive EF4 tornado that struck Granbury,Texas in the evening hours of May 15,2013. It killed 6 people,making it the deadliest tornado of the Tornado outbreak of May 15–17,2013,and was one of the worst tornadoes to ever hit the region.
On the afternoon and early evening of June 16,2014,a powerful cyclical supercell struck northeast Nebraska,producing a total of six tornadoes,four of which were violent. The tornadoes impacted areas east of Norfolk,including the village of Pilger,which sustained major damage,as well as farmsteads near Stanton,Wisner,and Wakefield. This outbreak resulted in two fatalities,20 injuries,and approximately $20.92 million in damages. The event was part of the Tornado Outbreak of June 16–18,2014,and the supercell produced the third,fourth,fifth,and sixth violent tornadoes of the year. The main Pilger tornado was tied as the strongest tornado of 2014,with wind speeds comparable to the Mayflower-Vilonia tornado.
The 2020 Cookeville tornado was an extremely destructive and fast-moving tornado tracked across Putnam County,Tennessee,directly impacting the cities of Baxter and Cookeville in the early morning hours of March 3,2020. The National Weather Service forecast office in Nashville,Tennessee,rated the worst of the damage from the tornado EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale with winds estimated at 175 miles per hour (282 km/h).
The 2011 Chickasha-Blanchard tornado was a large and extremely violent EF4 tornado that impacted the southern side of Chickasha,Oklahoma and rural areas around Blanchard and Newcastle,Oklahoma in the late afternoon of May 24,2011. The tornado killed one person and injured 48 others as the tornado traveled a path length of 33.3 miles with a peak path width of 880 yards. This powerful tornado was part of the Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26,2011 and was one of the strongest tornadoes in the sequence and was tied for the second strongest tornado of the May 24 outbreak,behind the El Reno–Piedmont tornado.
In the afternoon hours of April 27,2011,a large and long-tracked EF4 tornado moved across Central Alabama,devastating several communities along a 124 miles (200 km) path,including Cordova and Blountsville. The tornado killed 13 and had a maximum width of 2,600 yards (1.5 mi). It occurred as part of the largest tornado outbreak in modern history,and was one of eleven EF4 tornadoes to strike the Southern United States on April 27. The tornado was the second-longest tornado of the outbreak;only the Hackleburg tornado had a longer track.
