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 1989, 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 1989 could be described as quite typical in terms of numbers of tornadoes and fatalities. May and June both saw over 200 tornadoes, and after the usual summer lull, a significant November outbreak led to the devastating Huntsville, Alabama F4 tornado.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1989 in the United States.

January

There were 14 tornadoes confirmed in the US in January. One F4 tornado occurred in Illinois/Indiana resulting in no fatalities.

May

There were 231 tornadoes confirmed in the US in May. A very busy tornado month saw seven F4 rated tornadoes.

May 5

The May 5, 1989 outbreak spawned 17 tornadoes in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, and was responsible for a combined total of $169 million dollars in damage in the four states. It also caused seven deaths and 168 injuries.

June

There were 252 tornadoes confirmed in the US in June. Two tornadoes on June 8 killed five people in Florida and Louisiana.

July 10

The 1989 Northeastern United States tornado outbreak was a series of tornadoes which caused more than $130 million (1989 USD) in damage across the Northeastern United States on July 10, 1989. The storm system affected five states with severe weather, including hail up to 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) across, thunderstorm winds up to 90 mph (150 km/h), and 17 tornadoes.

November 15–16

The November 1989 Tornado Outbreak was a destructive tornado outbreak on November 15 and 16, 1989 across a wide swath of the southern and eastern United States and into Canada. It produced at least 40 tornadoes and caused 30 deaths as a result of two deadly tornadoes. The most devastating was the Huntsville, Alabama tornado, an F4 which killed 21 on the afternoon of the 15th. Nine more fatalities were reported at a single elementary school by a downburst on the 16th in the Town of Newburgh, New York. Several other significant tornadoes were reported across 15 states.

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1989 - Tornado History Project
• Tornado deaths monthly