Tornadoes in the country of Iceland are extremely rare, with only 13 events ever being recorded in the country's history. No fatalities or injuries have ever been recorded because of tornadoes in Iceland, and the highest rated tornado to ever occur was an F1.
Thunderstorms are extremely rare for any specific location in Iceland, with fewer than five storms per year in the southern part of the island. They are most common in early or late summer. They can be caused by warm air masses coming up from Europe, or deep lows from the southwest in wintertime. Lightning can usually be observed in connection with ash plumes erupting from the island's volcanoes. Vortices, sometimes on the scale of tornadoes, also occur with volcanic eruptions. Landspouts and waterspouts are occasionally observed. Classic mesocyclone derived tornadoes (i.e. forming from supercells) are very rare, but have been observed. Any of these do occasionally cause damage, although the sparse population further reduces the probability of detection and the hazard. [1] [2]
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 The Holuhraun lava flow that spawned the tornadoes on September 4, 2014 | |
| Type | Fire tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Highest winds |
|
| Tornadoes confirmed | 4-6 |
| Max. rating1 | FU tornado |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Damage | None |
| Areas affected | Holuhraun |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
From the days of September 3 to September 13 of 2014, a volcanic eruption and subsequent lava field spawned multiple lava and fire tornadoes, an extremely rare phenomenon in which smoke from a fire [11] (most commonly from wildfires, but can also be found in other events) mixes with cold atmosphere, creating an extremely hot rotating cloud of smoke which can ignite objects it tracks through. [12]
On September 3, a cloud of sulfur dioxide gas originating from the Holuhraun lava flow caused the formation of a fire whirl, which consisted of a column stretching 3,300 feet (about 1 kilometer) into the air. A remotely monitored infrared camera caught the event on video. Multiple other "lava tornadoes" touched down in the days following, many of which were brief and only touched the ground for 5–10 seconds. [13]
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2001. 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.
The European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) is a scientific organisation that conducts research on severe convective storms, tornadoes, intense precipitation events, and avalanches across Europe and the Mediterranean. It operates the widely consulted European Severe Weather Database (ESWD).
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2012. Extremely 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, Argentina, and Australia.
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.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2014. 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.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2016. 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 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. There were 1,059 tornadoes reported in the United States in 2016, of which 974 were confirmed. Worldwide, 133 fatalities were reported: 100 in China, 18 in the United States, five in Uruguay, four in Brazil and two in Italy, Russia and Indonesia each.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1963, 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.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1962, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although tornadoes events can take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
The 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak is regarded as the largest recorded tornado outbreak in European history. In the span of 5 hours and 26 minutes during the late morning and early afternoon of 23 November 1981, 104 confirmed tornadoes touched down across Wales and central, northern and eastern England.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2019. 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, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
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.
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.