Australia
See also: List of tropical cyclones#Australian tropical cyclones| Tornado Event | Date | Area | Tornadoes | Casualties | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narrabri tornado | 2 December 1900 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 | Destructive tornado causing total estimated damage of A£8,000. |
| Narrabri tornado | 6 January 1902 | New South Wales | 1 | 1 fatality, numerous injured | Second, more destructive tornado at Narrabri destroyed the railway goods shed. Few buildings were undamaged Damage total estimate of 10,000 pounds. Total estimated damage was A£10,000. |
| Ballarat tornado | 19 August 1909 | Victoria | 1 | 1 fatality, >7 injured | During a severe flooding event, a tornado touched down in Ballarat sweeping across the city's northern and eastern suburbs destroying numerous homes in Ballarat North, Soldiers Hill, Black Hill and Ballarat East. The tornado lifted before again touching down at Eureka where it destroyed more homes before dissipating. |
| Marong tornado | 27 September 1911 | Victoria | 1 | 1 fatality, >12 injured | Likely an F3, it caused severe damage to Marong and Lockwood. First tornado photographed in Australia. |
| Brighton tornado | 2 February 1918 | Victoria | 3 | >2 fatalities | Known as the 'Brighton Cyclone', these tornadoes hit the suburb of Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne. At one location two tornado tracks crossed, creating (in the language of the day) a "veritable orgy of destruction". In the few minutes that the storm lasted, two people were killed and many others injured. Wind speeds were estimated at 320 km/h (Fujita rating F3), making this possibly the most intense tornado to hit a major Australian city. Total estimated damage was A£100,000 - 150,000. |
| Portarlington tornado | 9 January 1921 | Victoria | 2 | 0 fatalities, >1 injuries | A tornado and a waterspout formed in the area of Corio Bay moving east where it struck Portarlington and St Leonards before dissipating in Port Phillip. The Grand Hotel was damaged and the roofs removed from a church and several houses. Trees were torn out of the ground. Reports of several people being carried up to 40 feet through the air. |
| Geelong tornado | 22 July 1926 | Victoria | 1 | 1 fatality, 20-30 injured | Tornado that originated in the Western District moved east, striking Lismore in South West of Victoria where there was considerable damage and trees torn out of the ground. Headed east, the tornado cut a swathe through the south west of Victoria until it reached the populated area of Geelong. It cut a path through the southern suburbs of Highton, Marshall and Belmont where a total of seven homes were destroyed, most in Belmont. The tornado continued to cross Port Phillip where it continued gathering pace. It made final landfall at Brighton where it destroyed two churches, two halls and several other buildings. Total estimated damage in Geelong was A£40,000. |
| Dwellingup tornado | 16 April 1954 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | Rated F-3, through Jarrah forest along an 10 km path, and up to 200m wide near Lyalls Mill. |
| Collie tornado | 6 April 1960 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | Rated F-3, large and very destructive tornado destroyed a Jarrah forest near Collie, Western Australia. Total path length was 32 km, and 250m wide. |
| Busselton tornado | 10 July 1964 | Western Australia | 1 | 1 fatality | 1 person was killed when his car was pulled off the road by a tornado near Busselton. |
| Bulahdelah tornado | 1 January 1970 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | One of the strongest Australian tornadoes, believed to be at least F4 possibly F5. Left a damage path 21 kilometres (13 mi) long and 1–1.6 km (0.6–1 mi) wide through the Bulahdelah State Forest. According to reports, it threw a two ton tractor 100 m (328 ft) through the air, depositing it upside down. It is estimated that the tornado destroyed over one million trees. |
| Kin Kin tornado | 14 August 1971 | Queensland | 1 | 3 fatalities | Three people killed at Kin Kin (a small community between Gympie and Noosa). This is the deadliest tornado recorded in Australia to date. |
| Brisbane tornado | 4 November 1973 | Queensland | 1, other funnels reported | 0 fatalities | Perhaps most destructive Australian tornado. It had a path length of 51 km, and peak wind-speeds are estimated to be in excess of 300 km/h. 500 houses were unroofed, 1,400 destroyed and 500 declared 'structurally unsafe'. At least one home was swept away from its foundation. Rated F3. |
| Port Hedland tornado | 17 December 1975 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | A spectacular tornado with a purple funnel was on the ground right in front of the weather bureau. |
| Sandon tornado | 13 November 1976 | Victoria | 3 | 2 fatalities | Strong F2 or an F3. Fatalities occurred when a car was thrown by the tornado with occupants inside. This tornado from the outbreak caused $300,000 in damage. |
| Northam tornado | 21 December 1977 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | Described as a most Beautiful Australian tornado due to the colour of the vortex being red from picking up the red-coloured dirt. Path length 6–7 km and it uprooted several large gum trees. |
| SE QLD tornadoes | 24 December 1989 | South East Queensland | >1 | - | A massive supercell (with cloud tops as high as 77,000 feet) tore through Brisbane and parts of SE QLD, producing several tornadoes along its path. A combination of straight line winds and a tornado unroofed 500 houses, damaged 1000 and left 12 structurally unsafe in the city of Redcliffe (approximately 25 km north of Brisbane). |
| Chisolm Tornado | 1990 | Australian Capital Territory | 1 | 5 | Tornado hit Canberra suburb of Chisholm in 1990 destroying a wooden church and damaging 37 houses. |
| SE QLD tornadoes | 29 November 1992 | Queensland, | 2 | 0 fatalities | The tornado at Bucca (west of Bundaberg, Queensland) is said to be the most intense Australian tornado, rated F4 officially. Hail the size of cricket balls accompanied the storm. A tornado also struck Oakhurst rated F3. |
| Tucabia tornado | 1 November 1993 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | Rated F2 with 200m base, accompanied by golf ball sized hail and lasted for 20 minutes. 8 houses totally destroyed, 35 others damaged. 2 people injured. |
| Merimbula tornado | 16 April 1995 | New South Wales | 2 | 0 fatalities, 34 injuries | An F2 tornado ripped through the centre of the town of Merimbula in SE New South Wales. 34 people were injured, approximately 200 buildings were damaged, 12 were destroyed. Two funnels were reported in the storm, which also caused damage at nearby Pambula. |
| New South Wales tornado outbreak | 29 September 1996 | Central New South Wales | 3 confirmed | 0, fatalities | The largest outbreak of severe thunderstorms ever documented in NSW occurs. Three tornadoes, hail up to 7 cm and wind gusts to 156 km/h are reported. Over $92 million insured loss from hail and wind is sustained at Armidale, NSW. Total estimated cost for the region is $340 million. 3 tornadoes confirmed at Bundella, Gilgandra and Elong Elong. |
| Perth tornado | 15 July 1996 | Western Australia | 1 | 0, fatalities 5, injured |
Short lived tornado associated with a cold front. This was indicated by the tornado's speed (approx. 80 km/h) and path (approx. 4 km long and 40m wide) which gave it a total time on earth of approx only 3 minutes. |
| Fremantle tornado | 25 August 1999 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 | A tornado went through Fremantle, south of Perth, leaving a 100 metre wide 8-9 kilometre long track. Several people were trapped in an apartment block when the tornado caused the roof to collapse. |
| Greystanes tornado | 3 November 2000 | New South Wales | 3 Confirmed | 0 fatalities | A tornadic thunderstorm moved through the Sydney Metropolitan Area over the afternoon/early evening. Three F0/F1 tornado's struck several suburbs including Constitution Hill, Wentworthville, Pendle Hill and Greystanes. Golf ball sized hail, the widespread downing of trees and overhead powerlines were observed during the damage survey as was minor to moderate damage to structure. |
| South coast tornado | 26 December 2001 | Off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | During the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the boat Nicorette recorded wind speeds of close to 100 knots (115 mph, 185 km/h, 51 m/s) (making the tornado at least F2) and was struck by hail the size of golf balls. According to the boat's meteorologist, the tornado began with a diameter of around 50 meters (165 ft), but grew in size until it was 500 meters (1640 ft) across. |
| South Australia tornado outbreak | 18 May 2002 | South Australia | 2 | 0 fatalities | Two tornadoes associated with a strong cold front occurred in the morning. The first tornado, at 6:15 am, near Coulta, 7 km in length, uprooted several trees and damaged others on farmland. The second, at 10 am, caused a narrow 2 km long path of damage through the Adelaide suburbs of Rosslyn Park and Wattle Park. In the evening, another tornado or severe downburst associated with a hail storm occurred at Two Wells, causing a damage path of less than 500m in length. |
| Niangala tornado | 13 October 2002 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A F2 tornado in Niangala damaged hundreds of trees and destroyed two houses, and, nearby, hail up to 6 cm was recorded at Walcha. |
| Bendigo tornado | 18 May 2003 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado caused considerable damage within the City of Bendigo, Victoria, damaging around 50 homes. |
| Grampians tornado | 4 January 2004 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado caused considerable damage along a wide track within the Grampains National Park in western Victoria. The tornado track was observed from an aircraft about a week later. The tornado tore large trees out of the ground, leaving a bare patch of about eight to ten hectares without any vegetation at all. |
| Noble Park tornado | 9 June 2004 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | An F1 tornado caused considerable damage along a damage path 3.2 km long and from 50 to 200 metres wide. More than 70 homes in the Melbourne suburbs of Noble Park and Mulgrave were affected. Winds were estimated at up to 180 km/h. |
| Coonabarabran tornado | 20 January 2005 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | This tornado formed at 4:30pm during a severe thunderstorm and ran a path of over 5 km towards the SE crossing the Oxley Highway, where it uprooted many trees adjacent to the highway and scoured the ground. F1 or F2. |
| Broken Hill tornado | 6 November 2005 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | Damage to 100 homes, total damage bill of $3.8 million. |
| La Perouse tornado | 4 August 2006 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A super cellular waterspout/tornado struck the Sydney suburb of La Perouse. It caused damage to several buildings, and brought down powerlines. A link to a video of this tornado can be found here. |
| Leschenault tornado | 7 August 2006 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | This tornado hit an outer suburb of Bunbury (163 km south of Perth) in the early hours of the morning. It damaged sixty houses, with seven of these completely losing their roofs. |
| Kakadu tornado | 1 March 2007 | Northern Territory | 1 | 0 fatalities | Severe damage was observed in Kakadu National Park, at the Mary River Ranger Station. Two caravans were destroyed, and many eucalypts and ironwoods were uprooted. The Bureau of Meteorology experts estimated the wind speeds to be between 230 and 270 km/h, making this an F2/F3 tornado. |
| You Yangs landspout | 14 May 2007 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | A landspout tornado was sighted near the You Yangs near Geelong, Victoria. The tornado lasted for several minutes as it traversed across farmland and had an estimated diameter of 50 to 100 metres. No damage was reported. |
| Moana tornado | 21 May 2007 | South Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | Several houses were damaged and trees were blown down or snapped off at Moana due to a tornado. |
| Dunoon tornado | 26 October 2007 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | Multi vortex tornado near the town of Lismore, likely to be an E-F1, caught by storm chaser Jimmy Deguara. The tornado blew out the walls of a church, tore the roofs off about 20 residences, and a piece of debris hit a power sub-station that exploded, causing 3000 homes to be without power. |
| Perth tornado | 9 June 2008 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | Confirmed by the Bureau of Meteorology, the tornado swept through the southern suburbs of Perth just after 7.30 in the morning and damaged more than 130 homes. Residents from an Aged Care facility in Cooloongup were evacuated as the roof of an activity room was blown off and the hostel is without power or water. |
| Nimmitabel tornado | 24 December 2008 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado occurred between Nimmitabel and Cooma, with severe storms that affected the region. |
| Atherton tornado | 7 February 2010 | Queensland | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado struck a farm just south of the town of Atherton in Queensland, Australia causing damage to corn fields and farm equipment. |
| Lennox Head waterspout/tornado | 3 June 2010 | New South Wales | 2 | 0 fatalities | A major storm and waterspout/tornado destroyed homes and caused multiple injuries at Lennox Head. Police say a number of homes have been destroyed, powerlines are down and several caravans have been overturned. Paramedics say several people have been injured in the storm but no-one is missing. |
| Trawalla tornado | 30 July 2010 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado destroyed hundreds of trees and damaged power-lines at Trawalla, near Beaufort. |
| Penola tornado | 31 July 2010 | South Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado ripped through the main street of Penola in South-east South Australia, destroying at least four buildings and damaging many others. No injuries were reported. |
| Moama tornado | 10 August 2010 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A weak tornado was observed in the town of Moama in southern New South Wales, causing some minor damage |
| Whitton tornado | 1 February 2011 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado struck the town destroying a carport, damaging houses and trees. |
| Yellow Water Billabong tornado | 11 February 2011 | Northern Territory | 1 | 0 fatalities |
Footage of a tornado over Yellow Water billabong located in the Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory, was captured by a tour guide. There were no fatalities or injuries and damage limited to vegetation. |
| Karratha tornado | 21 February 2011 | Western Australia | 4 | 0 fatalities | The Karratha CBD was struck by a tornado, related to Tropical Cyclone Carlos. It reportedly uprooted large trees, tore roofs of houses and threw boats into the air. One person was injured by flying glass. |
| Ballarat tornado | 20 April 2011 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | The outer suburbs of Ballarat were struck by a weak tornado, related to bad weather in the area. The tornado occurred between Sebastopol and Magpie, no damage or injury was reported. |
| Canning Vale tornado | 20 May 2011 | Western Australia | 1 | 0 fatalities | Perth suburb of Canning Vale was struck by tornado, damaging a number of homes and a vehicle. |
| Red Rock tornado | 14 June 2011 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A waterspout/tornado unroofed at least two buildings including the Bowling Club, and damaged several others in Red Rock. |
| Bellbridge tornado | 9 November 2011 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado hit the Bellbridge and Bethanga areas, near Wodonga. Several homes were severely damaged, some having their roofs removed, and several trees were uprooted. |
| Bacchus Marsh tornado | 25 December 2011 | Victoria | 2+ | 0 fatalities | A tornado hit Fiskville, west of Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. A second tornado was reported at Melton from the same storm. Tennis-ball sized hail and flash-flooding also occurred with the storms, leaving an estimated damage bill in the millions of dollars. |
| Bredbo tornado | 20 January 2012 | New South Wales | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado hit the Bredbo area in the Snowy Mountains area of New South Wales. |
| Townsville tornado | 20 March 2012 | Queensland | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado caused major structural and tree damage in the suburb of Vincent. Windspeed estimated at 160-200km/h from damage analysis. Other suburbs affected were Garbutt, Gulliver, Aitkenvale, and Annandale. |
| Black Range tornado | 31 May 2012 | Victoria | 1 | 0 fatalities | A tornado struck the Black Range, near Stawell, causing minor structural and tree damage. |
| Perth tornado outbreak | 7 June 2012 | Western Australia | 2-3 | 0 fatalities | Tornadoes struck the Perth suburbs of Dianella and Morley, damaging homes, trees and power lines. A tornado also struck York, 100 km East of Perth. |
| Southern Tasmania tornado outbreak | 9 November 2012 | Tasmania | 2+ | 0 fatalities | Tornadoes reported on Mount Wellington and Sorell. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Southern Hemisphere Tornadoes And Tornado Outbreaks
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