Tornadoes of Europe

The United Kingdom has the most reported tornado events of any European nation. Elsewhere in Europe, the most land tornadoes are reported from the North Sea coastal plains extending over France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Most occur here between May and August with the peak month in July.

Land-based tornadoes for Europe as a whole have been reported about four times less frequently than in the United States. In a survey of tornadoes across Europe (25 nations had records), Nikolai Dotzek (An updated estimate of tornado occurrence in Europe, 2003) estimated about 170 land tornadoes per year across the continent, but he suggests the number may be about half of actual occurrences due to underreporting. I say land tornadoes here because European reports generally combine waterspouts with land tornadoes in their numbers.

The higher latitude of European countries and its generally rugged terrain with the east–west Alps mountain chain lessen the optimal conditions for tornado formation compared to North America. Madrid, Spain, for example, is at the same latitude as Boston, Massachusetts and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Sicily in the south is equivalent in latitude to Wichita, Kansas.

Most European countries experience tornadoes, but statistics are limited because the storms are infrequent or rare within their borders. For example, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms were thought to rare events in Finland until recently. However, a 2005 study of tornado events in Finland by Teittinen (A climatology of tornadoes in Finland) found 151 tornado reports from 1796 to 2003, four fifths of which were weak storms. However, systematic documentation of tornadoes only began in 1996. Descriptions of few tornadic storms were found before the 1930s when interest in tornadoes began in the Finnish meteorological community. The number of tornado reports since 1996 suggests about ten tornado events per year in that nation.

The full number of reported European tornadoes (note only those tornadoes occurring in European Russia are included in this figure), including land tornadoes and waterspouts, is estimated to be around 330, and is perhaps half of the actual number of such events. In some cases, particularly in Italy, a tornado event may comprise a waterspout moving inland.

Adjusting for underreporting, Dotzek estimates the following European nations may experience ten or more land tornadoes per year.

United Kingdom: 50
Netherlands: 35
Spain: 30
Germany: 30
France: 10-30
Italy: 12-18
Hungary: 10-13
Ireland: 10-11
Finland: 10
Czech Republic: 10
European Russia: 8-10
Estonia; 8-10
Greece: 8-10
Belgium: 5-10

Only Albania did not have a tornado observation in the data used for Dotzek's study. Information from Scandinavia and the Islands of Crete and Malta were not available. Dotzek estimate 7 tornadoes annually in the combined Scandinavian countries and two each in the island nations.

Most European tornadoes are in the weak category (F1/F0), but that does not mean stronger tornadoes are fully absent. About 22 percent are strong (F2/F3) and 3 percent violent (F4/F5). Statistical analyses show France has a violent tornado once every five to ten years and the United Kingdom once every 250-300 years. In Germany the threat is once every 100-150 years.

Most land tornadoes arise in regions where the land is relatively flat such as in The Netherlands. A large number of land tornadoes originate as waterspouts that then move inland. Italy sees a large percentage of its storms forming this way.

United Kingdom Tornadoes

The British have been active in severe thunderstorm and tornado studies in the UK for some time with activities centered at the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO). This group uses another tornado intensity scale rather than the Fujita Scale of the US and much of the world. The Tornado Intensity Scale was devised by Dr. Terence Meaden in 1972. It ranges from T0 to T10, with each class representing a range of wind speeds. T0 to T3 are weak tornadoes, T4 to T7 are strong tornadoes and T8 to T10 are violent tornadoes.

Unlike the summer maximum for tornadic activity for Northern Europe, UK tornadoes are most frequent in November (19%), with nearly two-thirds occurring from September to January (65%). Tornadoes are least frequent in April and May (5% combined). The cold-season peak results from the combination of a large temperature contrast between mild and moist air over the mid-Atlantic and cold and dry air over the north Atlantic and polar regions combined with strong jet stream winds higher in the atmosphere.

In the United Kingdom, most tornado reports come from the Western Midlands, Eastern Midlands, Central-Southern England, South-Eastern England and East Anglia. A few occur in South-Western England, North-Western England, North-Eastern England and Wales, while in Northern Ireland and Scotland, tornadoes are very uncommon.

Significant UK Tornado Events

The earliest confirmed British tornado struck the church at St. Mary le Bow in central London on 23 October 1091 ( no typo here). That storm hit with violent force (estimated at T8), nearly a millennium ago. The T-rating was based on contemporary reports that the storm ripped four 26 foot-long (7.9 m) rafters from St. Mary le Bow and drove them into the heavy London clay with such force that only 4 feet (1.2 m) protruded above the surface. It also demolished several other churches and destroyed over 600 (mostly wooden) houses. It remains as the UK's most destructive tornado in history.

Another T8 tornado tracked across Britain from Old Portsmouth to Southsea Common (Hampshire) on 22 September 1810. It too caused immense damage, levelling many houses and damaging others beyond repair.

The deadliest UK tornado struck the Tay Bridge (Tayside, Scotland) on 28 December 1879, and the middle section of the bridge collapsed. Shortly thereafter a passenger train plunged off the bridge into the Tay Estuary. Seventy-four lives were lost in the accident Although the bridge was reported to have been poorly constructed and had already weakened, the cause of its ultimate failure has been attributed to two or three waterspouts which were sighted close to the bridge moments before the accident.

The most destructive (the second most destructive in Europe) tornado ravaged through Bognor Regis in southern England on 28 October 2000, causing $7 million in damage and injuring four people.

Tornado outbreaks and swarms are not as common in Europe as in the United States. However, on 23 November 1981, an intense cold front spawned 105 tornadoes over five hours and fifteen minutes across Britain. Nearly every county in a triangular area from Gwynedd to Humberside to Essex, save Derbyshire, reported at least one tornado; Norfolk had at least 13. Fortunately, most of these tornadoes were weak (strongest a T5) and of short duration, and there were no fatalities.

Tornadoes in The Netherlands

The Netherlands lies within the most optimum zone for tornado formation in Europe. Recent estimates suggest 20-25 tornadoes arise in the Netherlands each year mostly in the warm months (March to October). Though ranking fourth in the absolute number of tornadoes annually, on an areal basis, this nation ranks second to the UK, but with about one-sixth the frequency per unit area.

One of the most famous Dutch tornadoes struck the city center of Utrecht on 1 August 1674. The storm destroyed the nave of the Dom Cathedral. The tornado also destroyed or damaged five other church towers and all but two of the windmills which lined the town wall.

A more recent tornado disaster came on 6 October 1981 when a tornado struck a Fokker F-28 aircraft en route from Rotterdam to Eindhoven and tore off a wing. The plane crashed near Moerdijk, 25 km (15 miles) south or Rotterdam, killing all on board (17-19 people). The investigation into the crash concluded a pressure-drop on the flight recorder was not due to an increase in altitude, but the drop in pressure associated with the funnel.

Tornadoes in Germany

Prior to his work on European tornadoes, Dotzek looked at the climatology of tornadoes in Germany (Tornadoes in Germany, 2000). He found a total of 517 events reported in the historical record from 1587 to 1999 with more recent years tallying more events, indicated better reportage.

From the more recent data, he concluded that Germany experiences 15-25 tornadoes per year. Like The Netherlands, most German tornadoes occur in the warm season, 2/3 from June to August with a peak in July. Late afternoon is the most frequent time for a tornado strike with more than half between 1500 and 1900 LST.

As in the US, the strong majority of tornadic storms are weak (F0/F1): 65 percent. Only about two percent are violent tornadoes (F4). No tornado has ever been rated F5 in Germany.

The three regions with the most tornado activity are the homogeneous and flat terrain of northern Germany between the cost and the mountains, the more rugged terrain south to the Alps, and the upper Rhine Valley in southwestern Germany.

One of Germany's most significant tornadoes cut a 27-km (17 mile) swath through the Black Forest, uprooting trees and damaging more than a thousand homes. Fortunately only three died in the storm.

The most severe and costly German tornado was the F4 tornado that struck Pforzheim late in the evening (10 pm) of 10 July 1968 and caused $25 million in damage to the town and killing two.

Tornadoes in France

A climatology of significant tornadoes in France was prepared by Dessens and Snow (Tornadoes in France, 1989). Of the approximately eight tornadoes reported in France annually, two will be rated as significant: F2 or greater. In the past two hundred years, eleven tornadoes have been assigned an F4 rating and two an F5. During the warm season April–October, French tornadoes most frequently are observed in the country's interior. During the cold season November–March, they are most frequently observed in the northwest section of the nation. Most significant tornadoes occur in the northwestern quarter of France during July and August.

One F4 tornado which struck Pommereuil killing two and injuring 50 on 24 June 1967 was described thus by a resident:

"I have know two wars and yet I have never seen such a thing. It looked like the end of the world; what else can you say when you see cars flying over roofs, entire houses lifted off the ground and sinking into a pond, girders taking off like wisps of straw, amidst a roar and whistles of doom. I will never forget this nightmarish vision." L'Aurore

That same day, an F5 struck Palluel that demolished 17 houses, tossed cars over rooftops and drove wood fragments into the trunks of trees. Eight died in this storm and 30 were injured.

However, almost 80 years earlier, one of Europe's worst tornado disasters struck in France. At least 70 die (perhaps as many as 200) when a tornado struck near Monville on 18 August 1845. The storm struck a four-story stone mill causing it to collapse. Homes and two other mills (textile and paper) were also destroyed. In retrospect, it was rated an F5.

Tornadoes in Italy

Dotzek estimates that 12-18 land tornadoes should strike Italy each year. A study by Gaiaotti et al (The Climatology of Tornadoes in Italy, 2004) considered tornadoes to include both land tornadoes and waterspouts. They concluded, based on a sample covering data from 1991-2000, that tornadoes mainly arise in flat regions in the Po Valley, the Friulian Plain, the Tiber Valley and the Apulia Plain, and along the Tirrenian coast,. The storms are most frequent in the Po Valley and Friulian Plain in spring and summer while in the Tiber Valley, Apulia Plain and Tirrenian coast, most form in summer and autumn.

One or more tornadoes struck near Parma, Italy on 4 July 1965 killing 25 and injuring about 160 as the storm(s) rampaged through a dozen small towns in northeastern Italy.

A combination waterspout/tornado struck on 11 September 1970 in the northern Adriatic Sea near Venice. The waterspout first encountered a 25-tonne water bus, picking it up and spinning it around before dropping it back in the sea. The water bus sank in 30 seconds, 22 of the 60 passengers drowned. Those that survived fell from the boat as it was lifted from the water. The storm then moved inland, killing another 13 and injuring 200 at Fusina. The twister then moved north of Venice across Jesolo. The combined death toll from the storm was estimated at between 40 and 50.

Some Significant European Tornado Events

Researchers at TORRO have compiled information from many European tornadoes that underlie several of the following European tornado facts. A number of others have been gleaned from Tom Grazulis' book The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm.

The earliest confirmed European tornado struck Rosdalla, near Kilbeggan (County Westmeath) in Ireland on 30 April 1054.

The two most violent tornadoes to hit Europe struck France and Italy, both estimated to be T10-11 on the TORRO Scale. One devastated Montville (Seine-et-Maritime), France on 19 August 1845. This violent tornado reportedly struck at noon. It travelled 15 or 30 km (9-19 miles), was 100 or 300 m (328-984 ft) wide, and killed 70 and injured 130 or (less probable) killed 200 people, depending on which of the reports one believes. The second tornado claimed 22 or 23 lives and destroyed much property in the Treviso-Udine area (Veneto / Friuli-Venezia Giulia) of Italy on 24 July 1930.

The deadliest tornadoes reportedly struck Sicily in December 1851. Details, according to TORRO are lacking, but the reports say that two tornadoes crossed the western tip of Sicily, killing over 500 people.

More recently, 9 June 1984, the second deadliest European tornado event occurred in Russia. Over 400 were reported killed and 213 injured when a T10 tornado hit Belyanitsky, Ivanova and Balino in the western regions of the country, north of Moscow. There are also historical accounts of a tornado striking Malta in either September 1551 or 1556 in which around 600 were killed.

The most costly tornado to hit Europe struck in Germany on 10 July 1968. Late in the evening (10 pm), this vortex tore across the town of of Pforzheim, causing $25 million in damage and killing two.

For the widest and longest tornadoes recording in Europe, we look to France. On 3 June 1902, a tornado cut a 3,000 m (9840 ft) wide swath through Javaugues (Haute-Loire), France over a path length of just 7 km (4.4 miles). The tornado rated an intensity of T6-7. Remarkably, only one death was attributed to the storm.

The longest tornado track is attributed to the earliest-known French tornado. The twister struck during the night in September 1669 and moved from La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) to Paris, a distance of 400 km (250 miles). The path may have been longer as the storm reportedly began as a waterspout over the Bay of Biscay. Given the antiquity of the report, it is quite possible that this was not a single nor uninterrupted tornado track, but a series of tornadoes.

The earliest tornado reported on the European mainland occurred on 30 July 1119 in Vyšehrad, Czechia (Czech Republic). Believed to be the strongest tornado to hit this region, it destroyed the palace of a Czech duke at Vyšehrad, in what is now Prague.

Two tornadoes moved through Moscow, Russia on 29 June 1904, killing at least 30 people. The first and stronger touched down initially 32 km (20 miles) south of the city at Podolsk and rampaged through communities on the southeast edge of the city. The second struck close to the city center. The tornadic winds blew roofs off stone buildings, levelled many wooden homes, and obliterated buildings of lesser stature.

One or more tornadoes struck near Parma, Italy on 4 July 1965 killing 25 and injuring about 160 as the storm(s) rampaged through a dozen small towns in northeastern Italy.

Several waterspouts moved inland at the southern coast of Cyprus near Nicosia on 22 December 1969. Four were killed, one by a falling tree and others in collapsed buildings.

Discussions of tornadoes for the five continents are given elsewhere on this site: