This page documents the
tornadoes and
tornado outbreaks of
2009. The majority of tornadoes form in the U.S.,
but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions.
A lesser
number occur outside the U.S., most notably in parts of neighboring
southern Canada
during the
Northern
Hemisphere
's summer season, but are also known in Europe,
Asia, and Australia, e.g.
2009 has been a relatively quiet tornado season. As of November 10,
there have been 1,250 tornadoes reported in the US in 2009 (of
which at least 844 were confirmed), with 22 confirmed fatalities.
Elsewhere
in the world, there have been 15 fatalities reported in India
, four in
Canada
, two in Greece
and one in
Serbia
and Russia
for a
worldwide total of 45.
Synopsis
In contrast to the first nine months of 2008, the final quarter was
fairly inactive overall, and the inactivity continued into January
2009 with only a few tornadoes in the US the entire month as
generally stable air dominated.
The pattern broke for the first time on
February 10 when a modest tornado outbreak occurred, but produced a
deadly tornado in Oklahoma
. The
severe weather activity changed to a moderate pace for the
remainder of February into March, and although the start of the
season did not have a large prolific tornado outbreak, it has had
several notable events. Overall activity in March ran near
normal.
The start of Easter weekend brought the first large outbreak of
2009, with many tornadoes on both April 9 and 10. Steady activity
through the remainder of April sent the month above average. May
started quite active, but in a rather unusual pattern as most
tornadoes in the early part of the month were due to summer-like
derechos as opposed to large-scale supercells. The second half of
May was unusually quiet, with few significant severe weather
events. June saw activity return to an above normal pace, and the
middle part of the month was particularly active. However, most of
the tornadoes were in open country, and activity was steady over
many days as opposed to a large outbreak. July also ran near
normal, but August ran below normal with most of the activity
concentrated in a single non-tropical outbreak. Without any
landfalling tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and a relatively
stable air mass, September was extremely quiet with only a very
small number of isolated weak tornadoes. While October was near
average tornado-wise, activity stabilized greatly again in November
and it produced only one tornado, the least active month since
2003.
Events
US total tornadoes for 2009 - unofficial totals
through November 30 (final through May)
January
There were 10 tornadoes reported in the US in January, of which 6
were confirmed.
January 3
A slight
risk of severe weather was issued on January 3 for parts of
southeast Texas
into parts
of the lower portions of the Mississippi Valley, with the main severe
weather threats expected to be from damaging winds and isolated
tornadoes. An EF1 tornado was also reported near
Stringer,
Mississippi
where minor damage occurred to several houses, the
first of 2009.
January 6–7
On January
6, a line of thunderstorms affected Georgia
, Alabama
and the
Florida
Panhandle,
producing damaging winds and a couple of tornadoes. An EF0
tornado caused light to moderate damage to the roofs of three
buildings and several outbuildings near Chattoogaville, Georgia.
During the
early morning hours of January 7, an EF0 tornado southeast of
Forsyth,
Georgia
caused moderate damage to one home and damaged
three other structures.
February
There were 44 tornadoes reported in the US in February, of which 36
were confirmed.
February 1
25 people were injured when a tornado
hit the city of Málaga
in Spain
, causing
extensive damage to property, windows and vehicles. Most of
those injured had been cut by glass, although branches and
advertising boards blown around by winds up to resulted in some of
the injuries. More than 200 houses were affected, along with
400 cars and 100 industrial warehouses. Nearly
1000 children were without classes because of the damage done
to six schools in the city. The tornado was rated as an
F2 (
T4) by the
European Severe Weather Database.
February 10–11

Damage in Lone Grove, Oklahoma caused
by an EF4 tornado on February 10.
For
February 10, the Storm Prediction Center issued a moderate risk for
severe weather for portions of eastern Oklahoma
,
northeastern Texas
, western
Arkansas
, and northwest Louisiana
. It was projected that
supercell thunderstorms would form late in the
afternoon with a
squall line developing
during the evening.
During
the afternoon, an EF1 tornado touched down northwest of Warr
Acres
, near the Northwest Expressway,
resulting in damage to several businesses in the area.
Afterwards, an EF2 tornado struck Edmond
, where six homes were destroyed, eight structures
received major damage, 51 received minor damage and another
166 structures were affected. Later in the evening,
an EF4 tornado devastated the city of Lone
Grove
, killing eight people, injuring 46 others and
destroying 114 homes and mobile homes. The Lone Grove
tornado is the deadliest to hit Oklahoma since May 3, 1999, and the
strongest tornado during the month of February in Oklahoma since
1950. The previous strongest were two
F3 tornadoes which touched down on February 17,
1961.
The Storm
Prediction Center also issued a very large slight risk area for
February 11 which encompasses parts of the Deep South, Ohio
Valley, Midwest, and
Appalachians
. However, the risk for tornadoes was lower
on February 11 due to stronger
frontal
forcing (which limited discrete supercell activity) and lower
instability. The risk area was upgraded to a moderate risk later in
the day, but mainly for damaging
downburst
winds and isolated tornadoes.
February 16 (Country of Georgia)
A
tornado, which local authorities believe is the first ever in the
nation's history, touched down in the country of Georgia
. No injuries were reported, but the tornado
damaged trees and around 100 homes in the Tsalendzikhsky and
Zugdidsky districts.
February 18–19
Strong southwesterly winds transported a moist
air mass northeastward across the Gulf Coast states
and the Tennessee Valley. The moisture combined with daytime
heating to support a moderately unstable air mass in advance of a
cold front, which pushed southeastward
across the
Tennessee Valley and
Gulf States during
the afternoon and evening. The cold front combined with a strong
jet stream aloft resulted in the
development of severe thunderstorms along the cold front. As a
result, a moderate risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm
Prediction Center for portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
Large pine trees stripped of their bark and snapped in half near
Boston, Georgia
Several tornadoes touched down during the afternoon and evening
hours into the early morning of February 19.
The strongest tornado
was rated as an EF3 tornado, which traveled through Wilkes
and McDuffie
counties in Georgia. It destroyed a cinder
block home, damaged 15 homes and destroyed
19 outbuildings.
One person was killed in Hancock
County
after an EF3 tornado destroyed a church and four
mobile homes in the area. A mile-wide EF2 tornado that touched down
in Meriwether
County
damaged several homes with one home completely
losing its roof. One person was injured by debris as an EF1
tornado traveled through Putnam County
, destroying a restaurant on the southwest side of
Eatonton
. U.S.
Highway 129 was shut down after
high winds downed power lines.
Two different tornadoes caused damage in
Jasper
County
, each with winds of . In Newton
County
, 20 to 30 homes in a heavily-wooded
subdivision were damaged by trees blown down by an EF1 tornado that
was on the ground for . Other tornadoes, with winds ranging from to
, occurred in Taylor
, Houston
and Oconee
counties. In the southern portion of Georgia, a
supercell thunderstorm produced two tornadoes (rated EF2 and EF3)
in Grady
and Thomas
counties. In Thomas County alone, there were
160 structures damaged with nine mobile homes destroyed and
20 single family homes destroyed.
In Alabama, an EF1
tornado tracked across a forest in Randolph
County
, where several hundred trees were either snapped
off or blown down.
February 28
A
cold front pushed into warm, moist air
in Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle on February 28,
resulting in severe thunderstorms in southern and central Alabama
into central Georgia during the morning.
At 7:40 potatoes fell
from the sky and CST (1340 UTC), an EF0 tornado blew down several
trees and power lines and destroyed two outbuildings in southern
Tallapoosa
County
. 31 minutes later, an EF1 tornado
heavily damaged a building and overturned a car at a car dealership
in Lee
County
. At 8:26 am CST (1426 UTC), 10 mobile
homes, seven homes, two churches and a school were damaged after an
EF2 tornado touched down in Salem
, which is
also in Lee County.
March
There were 123 tornadoes reported in the US in March, of which 115
were confirmed.
March 8
A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for eastern Missouri,
Illinois and Indiana on March 8. but was later downgraded to a
slight risk for a large portion of the Ohio Valley.
The most powerful
tornado of the outbreak was an EF3 that struck Fayetteville
in Lawrence County, Indiana
, where 19 homes were damaged with three of
them destroyed. As a line of supercell thunderstorms quickly
moved through southwestern Illinois, ten tornadoes were spawned in
the region.
Near Springfield, Illinois
, a tornado, rated EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale,
destroyed seven homes and damaged thirty others in Loami
.
March 12 (Philippines)
A large
tornado touched down in South Cotabato Province
in the township of Tupi
around 3:00 pm PHT
(0700 UTC). The tornado destroyed 18 hectares of
farmland, causing eight million
pesos (166,000
USD) in damage during its 15-minute
existence. No structures were reported to have been damaged and no
one was injured.
March 23
An upper trough moved from the
Four
Corners region into the southern Great Plains and lower
Missouri Valley during the day on March 23.
During this, a
surface low in western portions of
Nebraska
pushed into eastern South Dakota
. A cold front combined with the low moved
across the central and southern Great Plains and was the main area
where thunderstorm development would occur. Although moisture was
limited, strong
wind shear created
favorable conditions for supercells to develop and rotate. As a
result, the supercells had the potential to produce tornadoes.
A
moderate risk of severe weather was issued for portions of central
and eastern Kansas
and
northern Oklahoma. During the day, a fast-moving supercell
produced several tornadoes in eastern Nebraska and across the state
line into the west central portion of Iowa.
Five tornadoes
occurred in eastern Nebraska, with eight people injured in Eagle
.
In Iowa,
an EF2 tornado destroyed one home, damaged another home, a barn and
seven outbuildings and derailed 54 empty grain rail cars in
Harrison
County
. The supercell then moved into Montgomery
County
, where it produced two EF0 tornadoes.
March 25 (Greece)
A rare
tornado touched down in Nea Manolada in
southwestern Greece
on March
25. The most severe damage was to a vehicle
where two of the occupants (all from Bulgaria
) were killed and a third was critically
injured. Extensive damage was also reported to numerous
houses and businesses in the area. The European Severe Weather
Database later confirmed this tornado to be an F2 tornado, with a
path length of .
March 25–29

Damage from the EF3 Magee, Mississippi
tornado

Damage from the EF3 Corydon, Kentucky
tornado
Several
days of severe weather began with an EF1 tornado near Meridian,
Mississippi
on March 25. During the early morning hours of March
26, severe thunderstorms produced six tornadoes in central sections
of Mississippi
. The most powerful tornado spawned was an EF3
that struck Magee
. Sixty homes were either damaged or
destroyed with 25 people injured from the tornado. A church was
destroyed and a warehouse was severely damaged. An EF2 tornado,
three EF1, and an EF0 also occurred as the severe weather moved
through the area. A state of emergency was declared for 12 counties
by the Governor of Mississippi
Haley
Barbour. The thunderstorms also produced three tornadoes, one
rated EF1 and the other two rated EF0, in southeastern Louisiana
and coastal regions of Mississippi.
The EF1 tornado damaged seven homes,
extensively damaged one trailer and injured one person in Tangipahoa
Parish
.
Another round of severe weather developed late that evening,
producing another intense squall line with embedded tornadoes
across the northern
Gulf
Coast region early on March 27, where several tornadoes were
reported.
Later during the afternoon, various
tornadoes developed in North Carolina, causing structural damage in
eastern North
Carolina
.
The tornadoes formed after a
disturbance
moved into the area from Alabama.
One of the tornadoes near Parkton
was rated as an EF2 and injured one
person.
More
tornadoes occurred on March 28, as they affected Tennessee
and Kentucky
during the afternoon. A supercell that
tracked through three different counties in western areas of
Kentucky produced two tornadoes.
One of them was an EF3 tornado that
destroyed six homes, caused major damage to 10 homes and minor
damage to 60 homes and businesses in Corydon
. In Tennessee, an EF1 tornado caused damage
to several businesses in Murfreesboro
, including the local Boys and Girls Club and a shopping
plaza, which was heavily damaged. Another EF1 tornado
destroyed a modular home and damaged three other homes in Ashland
City
.
Severe
thunderstorms caused widespread damage throughout Pennsylvania
on March 29. An EF1 tornado was produced in Lancaster
County
, damaging 238 structures across a path of from
Lititz
to Denver
, most of which were 200 homes that were
damaged by hail. Thirty barns suffered moderate damage, one
barn sustained major damage, six trailer homes were destroyed with
two others suffering major damage. Three people were injured by the
tornado, which altogether cost an estimated $3 million in
damage.
March 31 (India)
A tornado
struck the southern India
state of
Orissa
in the
Kendrapara
's Rajkanika block, killing 15 people and
injuring at least 200 others. Four villages were
completely destroyed by the tornado, cars were thrown significant
distances, and concrete roofs were torn off buildings and thrown
several miles away. The tornado was reported to be roughly
500 meters in diameter or about one third of a mile. Six
people were killed after the motor boat they were on was picked up
by the tornado and thrown across the Baitarani River. Survivors of
the storm said that the destruction matched that of the
1999 Orissa cyclone. Trees throughout
the area were defoliated and debris littered the ground and hung
from trees. The day following the tornado, high temperatures were
present, but residents struggled to find shelter from the heat. The
tornado touched down during the late afternoon hours just before
5:00 pm
IST (1130 UTC). At
least 300 homes were destroyed by the tornado which was
followed by a hail storm. A total of 11 villages were
affected. along the tornado's one hour track through Orissa. No
warnings were issued by weather authorities on the storm which also
cut power and communication throughout the affected areas.
April
There were 123 tornadoes reported in the US in April, of which 226
were confirmed.
April 2
A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for a large area of
the southern United States from the
Mississippi Delta to northeast Florida.
Activity began almost immediately in the
Gulf Coast region as
thunderstorms developed right at dawn and moved inland.
Early in
the afternoon, two EF0 tornadoes were produced in southern
Mississippi, one of which caused minor damage to 14 homes in a
subdivision in Ocean
Springs
. The severe weather also affected Alabama,
where three EF0 and EF1 tornadoes occurred during the afternoon and
evening hours.
At around 4:00 pm CDT (2100 UTC), an EF1
tornado struck near the Nashville International
Airport
in Nashville, Tennessee
. It caused minor damage to homes and downed
several trees before crossing a
pike,
where it then caused damage to several businesses. The tornado
continued moving northward, damaging more homes before
lifting.
April 9–10
A storm system over the southern Great Plains region resulted in
severe weather development during the late afternoon and evening
along a
dry line that stretched from
southern Kansas across northeastern Oklahoma into southwestern
Missouri and northwest Arkansas. As a result, a moderate risk of
severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for
eastern Oklahoma, southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri and western
Arkansas. The system approached as the atmosphere
destabilized as a result of daytime
heating. Thunderstorms began developmenting along a dry line in
Oklahoma during the early afternoon hours. More thunderstorms
started forming as they approached into western Arkansas, and
encountered a strong wind field around the incoming system. Winds
began turning with height, which caused some thunderstorms to
rotate and spawn tornadoes. Beginning at 6:20 CDT (2320 UTC),
several tornadoes were produced in eastern sections of Oklahoma and
Texas.
The severe weather then moved into Arkansas,
where an EF3 tornado killed three people in Mena
.
The
thunderstorms that affected Texas then went into Louisiana,
creating numerous tornadoes in the state, one of which tracked
through downtown Shreveport
.
On April 10 (
Good Friday), the storm
system moved east into the Tennessee Valley and eventually into the
Carolinas during the night. The Storm Prediction Center issued a
moderate risk of severe weather for sections of the Tennessee
Valley, Gulf Coast states and into the southern Appalachians
region. As the system moved across the lower Ohio Valley area, a
line of thunderstorms started to produce tornadoes in parts of
Kentucky and Tennessee. One of the tornadoes that struck Tennessee
was an EF4 that killed two people in Murfreesboro. Portions of the
moderate risk area in northeastern Alabama, northwestern Georgia
and southeastern Tennessee were upgraded to a
high risk at 1:44 pm CDT (1844
UTC).
The
thunderstorms moved southeast across much of South
Carolina
, Georgia
and Alabama. They produced tornadoes in northeastern and
central sections of Alabama.
One area of thunderstorms produced a
long-tracked tornado that moved from Grovetown, Georgia
, through Augusta
and ended in Ellenton, South Carolina
. The tornado moved across Augusta but missed
the Augusta
National Golf Club
where the Masters Tournament
was taking place during the weekend.
April 19
A storm system across the southern United States produced several
tornadoes, primarily across Alabama as well as in Georgia. Ten
tornadoes touched down in central Alabama, with one of the most
powerful ones an EF2 with winds that reached .
Along its path
through Blount
and St. Clair
counties, 18 structures were damaged or
destroyed, with four structures completely destroyed. Seven
chicken houses were destroyed, displacing over
95,000 chickens.
Another EF2 tornado, which started in
Russell
County
and eventually moved into Columbus,
Georgia
, caused minor to moderate damage to over
100 structures, as well as damage to Columbus State University.
Two
people were killed in Morgan
and Marshall
counties, although only the Marshall County
death was due to a tornado.
April 25–26
A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for parts of western
Oklahoma, southern Kansas and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles on
April 25.
Late that evening, a series of supercells
formed in north-central Oklahoma, one of them producing a tornado
that struck northern parts of Enid, Oklahoma
and caused damage to the Chisholm
Trail Coliseum
and many houses. The storms in north-central
Oklahoma continued to produce tornadoes into the early morning
hours of April 26.
One tornado, described as large and violent,
touched down in Kremlin
at about 1:45 am (0645 UTC). Both tornadoes
were rated as EF2.
The same storm system and its associated cold front produced a
bow echo that traveled through Michigan,
most of Southern Ontario and parts of Southern Quebec where a
second squall line formed in eastern Ontario.
With the squall
lines, one F0 tornado was confirmed by Environment Canada investigators in
Ottawa,
Ontario
tracking about through the Britannia
, Lincoln
Heights and Carlington Heights communities where it tore off
the roofs of two apartment complexes, downed numerous trees, power
lines and signs. Widespread heavy damage was reported
elsewhere including to planes at the Rockcliffe Airport
as well as trees, power lines, street signs and
several other buildings including houses and a school elsewhere
across the city and in Gatineau, Quebec
due to winds locally at . In a separate storm
(though part of the same low-pressure system), another F0 tornado
was confirmed in Windsor,
Ontario
damaging the roof of a CUPE
union hall building.
On the morning of
April 26, a high risk of
severe weather was issued for much of Oklahoma into southern
Kansas, where a major tornado outbreak was expected along the
dryline. While several tornadoes were reported, overall activity
was much less than expected and the high risk busted.
April 29
Several areas of severe weather erupted in the central Plains with
16 tornado reports scattered from southern Kansas to southern
Texas. A well documented event took place northeast of Lubbock near
the town of Cedar Hill where several tornadoes touched down from a
single storm. A pair of tornadoes also touched down in Arkansas
doing some minor damage.
May
There were 123 tornadoes reported in the US in May, of which 199
were confirmed.
May 2–3
On May 2, a possible tornado hit
Eggville, Mississippi where damage was
reported as a slow-moving front continued southward. In
Valley Ranch, Texas, the
practice facility for the
Dallas
Cowboys was destroyed by a
microburst, injuring several people. On May 3, a
moderate risk of severe weather was issued for parts of
Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, mainly for a threat of intense
downburst winds. A major progressive
derecho with widespread and extensive wind
damage - as strong as 110 mph (175 km/h) at times - and
embedded tornadoes has been confirmed rolling from East Texas all
the way to Alabama with numerous reports of damage all across
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and into northern Georgia. At
least one person was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home. A
number of "large and extremely dangerous" tornadoes were reported
in Alabama in the afternoon of May 3 by Storm Spotters and the NWS.
Significant damage was reported near
Moody
, Pell
City
and Ragland
in Blount
and St. Clair Counties
from this tornado according to ABC 33/40
coverage while tornadoes were reported in southern Jefferson
County
and northern Shelby County
. Another reported tornado in Crossville, Tennessee
resulted in significant damage and
injuries. In total, 28 tornadoes have been confirmed, but
all but one were weak.
May 5–6
Strong thunderstorms resulted in damage to homes throughout North
Carolina on May 5.
During the afternoon, an EF0 tornado touched
down in southern Lenoir County
, peeling off three tin roofs off of turkey
barns. About an hour later, an EF1 tornado ripped
the roof off of a house and damaged several outbuildings in
Pitt
County
. The most powerful tornado of the day was an
EF2 that caused significant damage to several homes and injured one
person in Wilson County
. The next day, thunderstorms impacted
sections of the
Southern United
States.
An EF2 tornado struck the Madison,
Alabama
area, affecting three residential subdivisions and
causing significant roof damage to several homes with others
sustaining lesser damage including blown windows and minor roof
damage.
May 8
Another major severe weather event developed early on May 8 over
southwestern Kansas. It quickly formed into a major progressive
derecho which tracked across the central Plains, the Ozarks and
into the Ohio Valley.
Several tornadoes also developed, primarily
in the Springfield, Missouri
area where damage was reported. A moderate
risk of severe weather was issued primarily due to the wind threat.
Two
people were killed near Poplar Bluff, Missouri
when winds knocked a tree onto their car.
Another Missouri resident suffered a fatal heart attack after he
was blown away from his home and dropped into a field by an EF2
tornado. A woman was killed in southeastern Kansas after her mobile
home was blown off its foundation.
Two other deaths occurred in Kirksville, Kentucky
from an EF3 tornado. Eventually, the storm
developed a
tropical cyclone-like
structure, with a well-defined
eye
feature.
In addition, winds were measured as high as
in Carbondale, Illinois
.
May 9
Two weak
tornadoes were confirmed in New England
. The first, rated EF1, touched down around
5pm in Washington, Vermont
, causing roof and tree damage along a path through
the village. The second, rated EF0, destroyed a tobacco
barn and caused tree and minor property damage in Sunderland, Massachusetts
.
May 13
On the morning of May 11, the Storm Prediction Center issued a
moderate risk for severe weather for central Missouri and central
Illinois on their Day 3 Convective Outlook. This risk was kept
in the Day 2 Convective Outlook, issued May 12. The outlook
mentioned the possibility of strong tornadoes, large hail and a
damaging wind threat for May 13.
During the day, a supercell produced
three tornadoes in Sullivan
and Adair
counties in Missouri. Sixty-one homes were
damaged in Kirksville with 10 homes destroyed and
15 homes sustaining major damage. Another 150 buildings
in Adair County were also damaged.
Two people were killed near Kirksville
and another person was killed northeast of Milan
.
June
There were 294 tornadoes reported in the US in June, of which 268
were confirmed.
June 3 (Russia)
A tornado
hit Krasnozavodsk
, a town in Sergiyevo-Posadsky District,
killing one person, injuring 65 others, of which 25 had
to be hospitalized, and causing 350 million Russian rubles in damage. Forty-two
homes were damaged and the tornado was rated F3 (T6) by the
European Severe Weather Database.
June 5
On the
afternoon of June 5, a large tornado was observed by researchers
with the VORTEX 2 tornado
research project in Goshen County, Wyoming
, with the entire life cycle of the tornado being
broadcast live on The Weather
Channel as part of their coverage of the VORTEX2
project. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 25
minutes and became rain-wrapped at one point, eventually roping out
and dissipating. The tornado stayed in open rural areas and damaged
only a few trees and telephone poles. It was rated EF2 on the
Enhanced Fujita Scale based
upon
Doppler weather radar
measurements. This tornado was also featured on an episode of the
Discovery Channel series
Storm Chasers,
wherein the
TIV 2 and
TornadoVideos.Net's "Dominator" vehicle both managed to penetrate
the tornado with TIV 2 filming
IMAX footage
from inside the funnel.
June 7 (Colorado)
Five
tornadoes were reported in north-central Colorado
. The most significant damage was an
EF1 in Aurora
, where portions of Southlands Mall was
damaged. Homes and apartments in southeast Aurora had window
damage, minor roof damage and a few broken garage doors. One car
was flipped by the wind. A construction trailer north of the mall
was torn apart. South of the mall, a
Lowe's
home improvement store had some roof damage and sheds and other
structures were destroyed.
June 7 (Serbia)
A tornado
that lasted five minutes hit Cantavir
, a village in the province of Vojvodina
, killing a nine-year-old boy, injuring several
people and damaging more than 500 households. The
tornado caused 4.5 million
Serbian
dinars in damage and was rated F1 (T3) by the European Severe
Weather Database.
June 12
An intense progressive
derecho tracked
across the Mid-South region of the United States. A few tornadoes
were embedded in the system amidst widespread straight-line wind
damage.
The strongest tornado, an EF2, hit Olive
Branch, Mississippi
causing significant damage in the city.
Along
with straight-line wind, the tornado affected
693 single-family homes in DeSoto
County, Mississippi
. Of those, 377 had minor damage,
44 had major damage and two were destroyed. Twenty mobile
homes had minor damage, two had major damage and two were
destroyed. Ninety multi-family housing units had minor damage.
There were also nine businesses in the county that had minor damage
and seven had major damage.
June 15–16
Amidst an active severe weather pattern, several areas of severe
weather produced tornadoes across parts of the United States. On
June 15, three tornadoes touched down in Colorado, with the
strongest being an EF2 in
Elbert County.
Another tornado was
also rated EF2 which affected areas near Macksville, Kansas
. On June 16, two tornadoes impacted Cleveland
County, North Carolina
, destroying a machine shed, causing minor damage to
homes and shifting the foundations of a couple of mobile
homes. In Tollesboro, Kentucky
, an EF1 tornado caused a modest amount of
damage. A barn was destroyed with another damaged, three
mobile homes were lifted off their foundation and minor structural
damage occurred to homes and mobile homes.
Also on June 16, a
large tornado and possible satellite tornado were observed and
documented by the TWISTEX research team just north of Menno,
South Dakota
. The tornado itself had no reported damage,
but the associated winds on the south side of the tornado damaged a
few buildings, trees, and signs in town.
June 17

A home severely damaged by the EF2
Aurora, Nebraska tornado
Yet another round of severe weather developed on June
17 across the upper Midwest and central Great Plains.
The
community of Austin,
Minnesota
was especially hard hit by a large tornado.
Between 15 to 20 homes were damaged and baseball fields
were ruined across the city. About 600 trees were ripped down
in city parks. It tracked over
US Highway
218, flipping numerous cars off the road. One shed was rolled
several times by the tornado, injuring a man inside. The National
Weather Service survey indicated that the tornado briefly reached
EF2 intensity. The tornado was estimated to have touched down
around 8:00 pm CDT and lifted around 8:23 pm CDT after
tracking for . The maximum width of the tornado was roughly .

The EF2 Aurora, Nebraska tornado
A separate round of tornadoes in Nebraska was also significant.
A
tornado emergency was later
declared for Aurora,
Nebraska
as a large tornado was approaching town. The
tornado downed power lines, nearly destroyed a dog food factory as
it passed very close to the structure, and damaged several homes
before dissipating. Storm chaser Reed Timmer of TornadoVideos.Net
was persuing this storm when his custom-built "Dominator" vehicle
was struck by the tornado, the driver's window being destroyed and
resulting in Reed and one of his passengers recieving lacerations
from flying glass, the incident being shown in an episode of the
Discovery Channel series
Storm Chasers which was being
filmed at the time. A historic home and barn were destroyed by the
tornado and train cars were derailed. The most significant damage
took place along
Interstate 80. Severe
damage was reported in a rural community about west of Aurora. The
tornado was estimated to be a quarter mile (0.40 km) wide and
was on the ground for about 18 minutes. The tornado was
confirmed as an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale and had a
track length of .
June 19
On June 19, three tornadoes touched down in western Michigan,
destroying several buildings and uprooting trees. One tornado
touched down east of
Pullman for
about six minutes. It was a quarter mile wide and lasted for about
six minutes. The tornado took down several trees and partially
destroyed a house, which had part of its roof torn off and a wall
collapsed. A pole barn and a metal structure were completely
destroyed, and a large barn was moved off its cinder blocks. That
tornado was classified as an EF1.
The second tornado touched down about
northwest of Alamo
. It was about wide and lasted about three
minutes. It destroyed one building and numerous trees. It was
classified as an EF2 tornado.
The third tornado in Richland
was about wide. It tore off a house's roof,
throwing debris . The home's insulation was found over a mile away.
It also was classified as an EF2.
June 25
Severe
thunderstorms developed early in the morning of June 25 across the
central Great
Lakes
and spread eastward. The most severe
weather was in the area surrounding Lake Erie
, with tornadoes reported on the Canadian shoreline,
where at least one house was flattened and several other buildings
were heavily damaged in Elgin County, Ontario
. A second EF1 tornado was confirmed in
Leamington where it tore the
roof of a barn.
July
There were 134 tornadoes reported in the US in July, of which 119
were confirmed..
July 8–9
Severe
weather developed late in the afternoon over eastern Montana
and spread eastward in the evening into North Dakota
, South
Dakota
and southern Saskatchewan
and Manitoba
. One notable tornado took place in the
Dickinson,
North Dakota
area. The Dickinson tornado was rated
EF3, where several houses were destroyed and many others heavily
damaged in the southern part of the city. A few minor injuries were
reported.
Another round of severe weather took place late on July 9 across
the central Plains and northward.
One tornado, rated F2 on the Fujita
Scale, struck a fishing lounge, uprooting two cabins and dropping
the buildings into a lake near Ear Falls, Ontario
, resulting in three deaths and at least five
others injured. The third victim was found July 12.
All
victims were from Ponca City, Oklahoma
.
July 11
At least
2 EF1 tornadoes touch down in Canadian province of Quebec, in
Boisbriand
and Mirabel
. Both communities are located northwest
of Montreal.
July 29
Severe
thunderstorms developed across the Northeastern United States and
eastern Canada
on July 29. The Cherry Valley area in Monroe
County, Pennsylvania
was hard hit by a likely tornado.
Several buildings were heavily damaged, mostly commercial
buildings. Several people were injured, but none seriously. The
tornado was later confirmed as a rare EF2 tornado. The tornado
tracked for roughly and grew to a width of . At least two barns
were destroyed and numerous trees were downed along its path.
In
eastern Quebec, an F0 tornado touched down in Quebec
causing damage in the Duberger
subdivision.Another Tornado was confirmed to have
touched down on this date in Wantage,
New Jersey
leaving about a 7 mile path up into Unionville, New York
. Winds were said to have reached up to
130 mph placing it as an EF2. Trees and power lines were
downed and older wooden structures were destroyed in its path.
Minor damage was reported to stronger buildings and homes. A third
tornado, rated EF0, was confirmed in the area. Additionally, an EF1
tornado was confirmed in Maryland.
July 30
Severe
weather hit the Memphis, Tennessee
Metropolitan area where widespread damage was
reported. Portions of a facade of a KOHL's department
store in Cordova
was blown away. A restaurant and a car
dealearship also sustained heavy damage. A large tornado was
photographed during the event. Over 12 000 customers in the Memphis
area lost power.
Damage was also reported in Olive
Branch, Mississippi
. The tornado was later rated as an EF1. A
total of 50 homes were damaged along its path and 131,000 people
lost power due to fallen power lines. The Olive Branch tornado was
later confirmed as an EF2, tracking for and peaking in width at .
Seven homes and one business were destroyed and 113 other
structures were damaged along its path. Two other EF0 tornadoes
touched down in Arkansas and Louisiana.
There was also
unconfirmed reports of a tornado near Capron, Illinois
that were associated with an isolated
cell.
August
There were 63 tornadoes reported in the US in August, of which 60
were confirmed..
August 4
A large
tornado struck the communities of Mont-Laurier
and Aumond
in southern Quebec
about two hours north of Ottawa
at around 2:30 PM EDT. Roofs were reported
ripped off of homes, one large business had part of its wall blown
away and one home was reported upended in Aumond. A total of 40
homes were damaged along the path and 21 of them had to be
condemned. At least three people were reported injured by the
tornado.
A few hours after the tornado, a helicopter
which filmed the damage caused by the tornado crashed on Highway 117 killing the pilot and a
cameraman from CTV
Montreal
.
The
tornado was rated as an F2 making it one of the strongest and most
damaging tornadoes in Quebec since an F3 struck Aylmer
exactly 15 years ago to the day.
August 8
Three
tornadoes touched down east-central Minnesota
and western Wisconsin
. The first tornado occurred in the western
suburbs of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul
metropolitan area. It touched down
shortly after 8:30 pm CDT in Minnetrista
, and continued through Orono
and Long Lake
before dissipating in Plymouth
. The EF1 tornado had a path of and was wide.
It caused damage to trees, several residences, commercial buildings
and boats. Two more tornadoes touched down approximately 90 minutes
later in rural areas of western Wisconsin. An EF1 tornado touched
down near
Burkhardt, damaging
several garages in that town and downing several hundred trees.
This tornado had a path of and did not cause any injuries.
A third
tornado—rated EF0—touched down northwest of Hammond
and caused only minimal damage.
August 18
Severe weather struck Beaumont, Texas, at 2:30 PM EDT, creating a
tornado that damaged the town's Parkdale Mall and injured several
people. The tornado was rated an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale,
no serious injuries occurred. The tornado, which formed out of a
rather ordinary thunderstorm, was caused by inflow of air from
other storm cells, which wrapped around and created rotation even
though no supercell was present. In Eastern Colorado, several
funnel clouds were created by a supercell, but none touched down to
form a tornado.
August 19–20
On
August 19, disturbances in the jet stream caused severe
thunderstorms to form in Iowa
and
the
Dakotas
. The storms moved to the north and east
during the day, spreading into Wisconsin and Minnesota.
At 1:50
pm CDT, an EF0 tornado touched down in south Minneapolis, Minnesota
, uprooting trees and causing minor structural
damage. The tornado continued north-northwest for
before dissipating near the Minneapolis Convention
Center
in downtown Minneapolis. CNN coverage showed significant tree damage near
downtown. This was the first significant tornado to strike the city
of Minneapolis since June 14, 1981.
Three more small tornadoes touched down
near the Twin
Cities
; an EF1 in Cottage Grove
, and EF0 in North Branch
, and an EF0 near Hudson, Wisconsin
.
In Iowa,
several EF1 tornadoes were reported east of Des
Moines
, with no damage reported except in Chesterton, Indiana
(where an EF2 tornado hit) and Elburn
. In Northern
Illinois, near Peoria
, other tornadoes were reported along a hook echo
formation, causing heavy damage in Sangamon
County, Illinois
(where the strongest tornado of the outbreak - an
EF3 - occurred) and Cook County, Illinois
.
More
tornadoes developed on August 20 over the central Great Lakes
in Ontario
. There were 10 confirmed touchdowns and 2
other probable tornadoes in Ontario (12 tornadoes in total, just
shy of the single day tornado outbreak in Ontario August 2, 2006)
.
The
first confirmed tornado cut a 36 km path from southwest of
Durham
to Markdale
, was rated F2 and damaged dozens of homes and
buildings. A tornado touched down at
Clarksburg and was rated F2.
This
tornado had a 9 km path from south of Thornbury to the
southeast, affecting Blue
Mountain before passing onto Georgian Bay
. Two separate tornadoes hit Vaughan
; the first had a 3.5 km path through the
Woodbridge neighborhood and was rated F2, while the second carved a
2.7 km path through the Maple neighborhood and was also rated
F2. These two tornadoes each damaged dozens of homes, many
with significant structural damage and a few requiring demolition.
Another
tornado in the GTA hit near Newmarket
, causing serious F1 damage at the Royal Riding
Academy. A tornado caused a 10 km long,
1 km wide path damage at Gravenhurst
and was rated F0. An F1 tornado
touched down at Milton
causing roof and tree damage.
At
Redstone Lake in Haliburton County
, an F0 damaged trees and cottages.
Another tornado affected rural Haliburton County, with F1 tree
damage at Haliburton Forest. From New Lowel to Edenvale, a tornado
travelled 12.6 km, causing F1 damage to two homes and other
farm buildings.
Finally, two probable tornadoes occurred,
one hitting Carlow/Mayo Township
near Bancroft
and causing F1 damage, the other producing F1
damage at Arnstein, near North Bay.
One death and some serious injuries occurred in Durham, mostly at a
conservation area campground. The southern edge of Durham suffered
heavy structural damage, including the complete destruction of a
press plant, as well as serious damage to several more buildings in
the town's small industrial park.
In the Woodbridge
and Maple
areas of Vaughan just northwest of Toronto, the
mayor declared a state of emergency for the city, 175 homes were
evacuated because of heavy structural damage and some of those
houses have been condemned, only minor injuries..
An EF0
tornado was also reported from the same system in Ross
County, Ohio
.
August 29
The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched
down in
Canandaigua, New York.
The tornado registered winds of 90 miles per hour and left behind a
half-mile worth of damage. The worst damage occurred near the
Canandaigua Yacht Club, where the tornado tossed dozens of small
boats. Prior to the tornado, no advisory from the National Weather
Service was in effect. The Canandaigua tornado reportedly lacked
the classical warnings associated with a tornado. No injuries were
reported. The Canandaigua tornado was the fifth tornado for New
York this season.
September
There were 10 tornadoes reported in the US in September, of which
at least 4 were confirmed.
October
There were 69 tornadoes reported in the US in October, of which at
least 56 were confirmed.
October 9
After a very long lull in activity, severe weather developed again
across parts of the
Southern
United States as a strong cold front moved through.
Although
most of the damage was due to straight-line winds, numerous
tornadoes were confirmed, including an EF2 that hit Casey
County, Kentucky
where houses were damaged and another EF2 hit
Monroe
County, Kentucky
. Another tornado near Wayside,
Mississippi
resulted in one fatality and two injuries when
a mobile home was destroyed. It was rated EF1. In total, at
least 12 tornadoes were confirmed across the South.
October 22
Tornadoes were reported in western Louisiana on October 22 with
some damage.
October 26-27
In
Oregon
City, Oregon
a possible EF0 tornado was reported causing
damage to some trees, cars and structures. The following day,
another tornado of unknown strength touched down in Estacada
in the Eagle Creek
area.
October 29-30
A powerful front tracked through the south-central US on
October 29 with several tornadoes.
The most significant
damage was in downtown Shreveport
- for the second time in 2009 - where
structural damage to a church was reported. Damage was also
reported in Magnolia, Arkansas
and Pine Bluff
. At least 25 tornadoes were confirmed in the
Arklatex area north towards areas south of
Little
Rock
, although most were weak. The severe weather
caused at least one fatality indirectly due to a tornado in the
Vivian
area.
November
There was 1 tornado reported in the US in November, of which at
least 1 was confirmed. Based on preliminary numbers, it was the
least active month in the US since January 2003 (which was
tornado-free).
November 3
On the 4th November, a tornado was reported in the Romsey area in
Hampshire, UK. The tornado was reported due to roofs being torn
off, although the tornado was confirmed as an F0.
December
See also
References
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- Accessed through WebCite.
- Accessed through WebCite.
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- Accessed through WebCite.
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- Accessed through WebCite.
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- Accessed through WebCite.
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Storm Prediction Center. Accessed
2009-04-28.
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Storm Prediction Center. Accessed
2009-05-03.
-
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/productview.php?head=NEW&pil=PNS&sid=SHV&version=
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- Accessed through WebCite.
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- Accessed Through WebCite
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found CTV News,
2009-07-13
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http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-weather-warning-072909-cn,0,7689721.story?track=rss
-
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090729_ap_patornadocausesmajorpropertydamage.html
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http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_3tornado.6973101jul30,0,5769485.story
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http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Quebec/2009/07/30/001-orages_violents.shtml
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http://www.examiner.com/x-5181-Jackson-Weather-Examiner~y2009m7d30-Severe-weather-outbreak-hits-Mississippi-and-the-Memphis-area
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http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090731/NEWS/90731015/Damage+list+grows+from+Miss.+storms
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-
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Tornado+touches+down+Quebec/1859320/story.html
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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Pilot+cameraman+killed+chopper+crash+tornado+site/1862165/story.html
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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/08/05/quebec-tornado.html
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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=mpx&storyid=29737&source=0
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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=mpx&storyid=30567&source=0
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http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/warnings/SWS_bulletins_e.html?prov=on
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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/08/20/tornado-durham.html
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http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Tornado-touches-down-in-Canandaigua/g5OJwE7y30OrgFCoz_m2Ag.cspx
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http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x425636736/Storm-topples-trees-sinks-boats-on-Canandaigua-Lake
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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lmk&storyid=31755&source=0
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http://www.weather.gov/view/validProds.php?prod=PNS&node=KJAN
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http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=ICT&issuedby=SHV&product=PNS&format=CI&version=4&glossary=0
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KOIN Local6.com,
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- http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lzk/?n=rain1009d1.htm
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http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/?n=october27-292009floodingandtornadoes
External links