This page documents the tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

es and tornado outbreak

Tornado outbreak

While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...

s of 1985, primarily in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 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.

Synopsis

The tornado season of 1985 saw very little action in the winter months, and even the spring wasn't particularly notable until the massive May 31 outbreak, one of the largest and deadliest in modern American history, which saw 43 tornadoes kill 88 people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, Canada. All eight of 1985's F4 tornadoes and the one F5 tornado happened during this outbreak.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1985 in the United States.

March

There were 38 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March. On March 17, an F3 tornado killed two in Sarasota County, Florida.

April

There were 134 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April. On April 21, an F3 tornado in Texas resulted in three fatalities.

May 31

The 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak was a major tornado outbreak that occurred in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, on May 31, 1985. Forty-three tornadoes were counted including 13 in Ontario. It is the largest and most intense tornado outbreak ever to hit this region. Eighty eight people were killed and nine tornadoes were F4 or stronger, including the F5 Niles/Wheatland tornado.

June

There were 82 tornadoes confirmed in the US in June. On June 8, tornadoes killed two in Wisconsin and one in Michigan.

August

There were 108 tornadoes confirmed in the US in August. On August 16, an F3 Tornado spawned by Hurricane Danny, struck Waco, Tennessee and produced a damage path of 500 yards wide making the tornado the largest hurricane spawned tornado.

November

There were 19 tornadoes confirmed in the US in November. On November 18, an F3 tornado killed three in Arkansas.

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1985 - Tornado History Project
• Tornado deaths monthly