The August 2008 European tornado outbreak was a widespread severe weather event which spawned ten tornadoes in four countries, one of which killed three people in France and may have reached F4 intensity.

Meteorological synopsis

On August 3, several areas of low pressure

Low pressure area

A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...

 developed. Frontal systems

Weather front

A weather front is a boundary separating two masses of air of different densities, and is the principal cause of meteorological phenomena. In surface weather analyses, fronts are depicted using various colored lines and symbols, depending on the type of front...

 extended from one of the lows, stretching from the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

 to the Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 coastline.

Confirmed tornadoes

List of reported tornadoes - Sunday, August 3, 2008
F# Fujita scale The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...	Location	State	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
F0	N of Langeneß Langeneß Langeneß is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It consists of the halligen Langeneß and Oland. Before the flood of 1634 the two islands were directly attached.... (1st tornado)	Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...	54.66°N 8.6°W	1150	unknown	A brief waterspout developed near the coast of northern Germany. The waterspout dissipated before reaching shore.
F1	N of Langeneß Langeneß Langeneß is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It consists of the halligen Langeneß and Oland. Before the flood of 1634 the two islands were directly attached.... (2nd tornado)	Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...	54.66°N 8.6°W	1150	unknown	The second of two waterspouts near Langeneß developed in the same location as the first but briefly tracked onshore, tossing beach chairs before dissipating.
F0	N of Büsum Büsum Büsum is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide....	Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...		1300	unknown	A brief waterspout developed near Büsum.
F0	N of Norderney Norderney Norderney is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is also a municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony....	Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...		1453	unknown	A brief waterspout developed near Norderney.
F2	Goldenstedt Goldenstedt Goldenstedt is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte, approx. 12 km northeast of Vechta....  area	Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...	52.78°N 8.43°W	2115	4 km (2.5 mi)	The strongest tornado to touch down in Germany during the outbreak struck Goldenstedt. Numerous homes were damaged by the tornado and several trees were uprooted.
Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
F1	Oostermeer area	Friesland Friesland Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...	53.17°N 6.05°W	1745	unknown	A tornado tracked for 25 minutes in Friesland and damaged large areas of trees and tore roofs off of several homes.
F2	Groningen area	Groningen Groningen (province) Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...	53.20°N 6.25°W	1845	unknown	A strong F2 tornado damaged or destroyed several homes and barns and uprooted numerous trees. The maximum width of the tornado was estimated at 200 metres Dozens of people were reportedly injured by the tornado and damages exceeded €100,000.
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
F4	Hautmont Hautmont -Twin towns - sister cities:Kamianets-Podilskyi is twinned with: Kalisz in Poland -References:*...  area	Nord	50.25°N 3.93°W	2200	18.7 km (11.6 mi)	3 deaths – See section on this tornado
List of reported tornadoes - Monday, August 4, 2008
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
F1	Deckbergen area	Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...		0258	2.5 km (1.6 mi)	A 200 to 300 metre wide tornado damaged several residences.
F1	Birkenau Birkenau (Odenwald) Birkenau in the Odenwald is a community in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Its nickname is Das Dorf der Sonnenuhren – “The Sundial Village”.-Location:...  area	Hesse Hesse Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...	49.56°N 8.71°W	0650	330 m (360.9 yd)	A brief and narrow tornado several homes and tore bricks off of the local firehouse.
Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
F0	Augustów Augustów Augustów is a town in north-eastern Poland with 29,600 inhabitants . It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , having previously been in Suwałki Voivodeship . It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów.In 1970 Augustów became...  area	Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...	53.85°N 23.00°W	1400	200 m (0.124274547329961 mi)	A brief rope tornado touched down in Augustów
F0	Świdnik Swidnik Świdnik is a town in eastern Poland with 42,797 inhabitants , situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, very near the city of Lublin. It is the capital of Świdnik County.-History:The village of Świdnik is first mentioned in historical records from 1392...  area	Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship - Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas....	51.25°N 22.86°W	1510	200 m (0.124274547329961 mi)	A brief rope tornado touched down in Świdnik
F2	Jastkowice Jastkowice Jastkowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pysznica, within Stalowa Wola County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Pysznica, north-east of Stalowa Wola, and north of the regional capital Rzeszów.-References:...  area	Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...	50.62°N 22.10°W	1615	unknown

Hautmont tornado

The 2008 Hautmont, France tornado was a powerful tornado which touched down near the town of Hautmont, France

Hautmont

-Twin towns - sister cities:Kamianets-Podilskyi is twinned with: Kalisz in Poland -References:*...

 late on August 3, 2008. The tornado left a path of destruction about 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) long through several small towns. The hardest hit town was Hautmont, where three people were killed and another nine were injured by the tornado. Another man committed suicide after the tornado had destroyed his home. Among the four who died were the Deputy Mayor of Hautmont and his wife, who were found underneath the rubble of their home the day after the tornado struck.

The three other towns affected by the tornado were Maubeuge

Maubeuge

Maubeuge is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is situated on both banks of the Sambre , east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian border.-History:...

, Neuf-Mesnil

Neuf-Mesnil

Neuf-Mesnil is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.-Heraldry:-References:*...

 and Boussieres-sur-Sambre

Boussières-sur-Sambre

-References:*...

. In total, about 1000 homes were damaged, with 250 rendered uninhabitable.

External links

• Damage report with photographs of destroyed houses (PDF) (french)