Tornado History

Earliest Tornado In Europe

Apr 30, 1054

The earliest tornado ever recorded in Europe happened on April 30, 1054.

Earliest Tornado In The Americas

Aug 21, 1521

The earliest ever recorded tornado in the Americas Happened on August 21 1521 in Tlateloco, Mexico. It happened two days before Cortéz invaded the capital city.

Tri-State Tornado

Mar 18, 1925

There were 695 killed and 2027 injured in this tornado. It is actually a single tornado that destroyed 11 towns and traveled a total of 219 miles.

Tornado Alley Project

Feb 15, 1952

In 1952 the name 'Tornado Alley' came around because the Air Force Severe Weather Service set up a project to watch from Lubbock, Texas to Colorado and Nebraska. They were also the first group to succesfully predict a tornado.

Tampa Tornado Family

Apr 4, 1966

The Tampa Bay Tornado family was one of the most deadly tornadoes in history. 11 were killed.

Fujita Scale Invented

Nov 21, 1973

Tetsuya Fujita and Dr. Alan Pearson create the Fujita scale, the first way to measure tornadoes based on destruction and wind speeds.

Dalitpur and Saltpuria Tornado

Apr 26, 1984

The Dalitpur and Saltpuria tornado in Bangledesh killed over 1300 people and injured over 12,000 people. It is likely the most dangerous tornado in history. It only spared a few trees.

Enhanced Fujita Scale Introduced

Feb 1, 2007

The Enhanced Fujita scale was introduced in 2007 and has made the old scale more accurate.

Illinois Tornado Family

Nov 17, 2013

There were 20-30 tornadoes in this family that touched down in Illinois. 7 died and dozens were injured.