Portal:Tornadoes/Anniversaries/July


July 1

  • 1873 – An F4 tornado hit Erie and Shilo Township, Kansas, killing five people. An eyewitness stated "the night phantom appeared to be composed of fire."
  • 1877 – A tornado outbreak hit the Northeastern United States. A slow-moving F4 tornado struck Parkesburg and Ercildoun, Pennsylvania, killing two people and injuring 25. Debris was carried 9 miles (14 km).

July 2


July 3


July 4

  • 1898 – An F1 tornado hit Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, destroying 20 cottages and injuring 120 people. Three people died in the collapse of a skating rink. Five drowned when a yacht capsized, but this may have been caused by nearby downburst winds rather than the tornado. Panicked beach goers did not notice the funnel, but it was spotted from a distance.
  • 1965 – Three strong tornadoes touched down in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, resulting in 11 deaths and 200 injuries. The greatest loss of life was from a tornado that killed seven people in Fiorenzuola d'Arda, where it severely damaged many buildings and threw cars up to 500 metres (1,600 ft). An F4 tornado killed three people in Torricella di Sisa, and another tornado killed one person in Ostellato.

July 5

  • 1643 – An event commonly referred to as the earliest recorded tornado in North America destroyed a meeting house in Essex County, Massachusetts and reportedly killed a Native American. Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis states that this event was probably a gust front or downburst rather than a tornado.
  • 1905 – An unusual event for Texas at this time of year, an F4 tornado devastated small rural communities in Montague County, killing 18 people and hundreds of livestock. Little is known about this event due to nearly non-existent documentation of tornadoes in Texas at this time.

July 6

  • 1891 – An F2 tornado struck a state prison in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killing 11 people. Ten of the deaths were in the destruction of the commissary building.
  • 1893 – An F5 tornado devastated Pomeroy, Iowa, damaging or destroying 80% of homes in the town. The precise death toll is uncertain, but it is estimated that 71 people died across four counties, including 49 in and near Pomeroy.
  • 1992 – A strong tornado struck the Juan Díaz district of Panama City, Panama, killing 12 people and injuring 50. Most of the deaths were in a clothing factory.

July 7


July 8

  • 1680 – The earliest event in North America confirmed to be a tornado struck Cambridge, Massachusetts, snapping trees, unroofing a barn, and killing one person.
  • 2015 – An F4 tornado struck Dolo and Mira in Veneto, Italy, killing one person and injuring 72. About 500 structures were damaged or destroyed. The tornado destroyed masonry structures, including a 17th-century hotel.

July 9

  • 1938 – An F4 tornado destroyed 17 buildings, including 7 homes and a church, in Andover, South Dakota, killing 17 people and injuring 18. Another F4 tornado leveled three farms (which at least one completely swept away) near White, South Dakota.
  • 2018 – An EF2 tornado moved through a trailer park on the south side of Watford City, North Dakota, destroying 122 trailers, RVs, and other structures. A newborn infant was killed and 28 other people were injured.

July 10

  • 1968 – An F4 tornado (rated T8 on the TORRO scale) hit Pforzheim, Germany, damaging more than 2300 structures, several of which were completely destroyed, and destroying 126 hectares (310 acres) of forest. Two people died and 200 others were injured as a direct result of the tornado, and another died in an accident during repair work. An F3 (T7) tornado injured three people in Uberach, France.
  • 1989 – A tornado outbreak brought strong tornadoes to parts of New York and New England. An F4 tornado devastated parts of Hamden and New Haven, Connecticut, destroying 350 homes and 40 businesses and injuring 40 people. Damage totaled $100 million, equivalent to $214 million in 2023. Another F4 injured 20 people in or near Carlisle, New York. An F2 tornado severely damaged homes and destroyed warehouses in Watertown, Oakville, and Waterbury, Connecticut, injuring 70 people.

July 11

  • 1909 – An F2 tornado hit Big Stone City, South Dakota and Ortonville, Minnesota. A bus was thrown from the road in Big Stone City, killing the driver. The tornado then hit a railroad yard in Ortonville, where 26 Armenian laborers were living in boxcars. Four of them were killed and nineteen were injured.

July 12

  • 1992 – An outbreak produced widespread tornadoes across the eastern United States, resulting in 42 injuries but no fatalities; most of the tornadic activity was in Ohio. An F3 tornado destroyed 30 homes and injured four people near Medina, Ohio. Nearby, an F2 tornado injured three people in LaGrange Township. An F2 tornado damaged buildings, including an apartment complex, in Pettisville, Ohio, where eight people were injured. Another F2 tornado injured six people at a marina in Tarpon Springs, Florida. A F1 tornado also hit Napleon , ohio doing minor damage to multiple homes and blowing a roof off one no injuries or deaths were reported.

July 13

  • 1890 – An F3 tornado destroyed about 50 lakeside cottages across Anoka and Ramsey Counties, Minnesota and the town of Little Canada. Six people were killed and 30 were injured; some of the dead drowned.
  • 2004 – An F4 tornado touched down near Roanoke, Illinois. Several farm homes were swept away a manufacturing plant was destroyed. Three people were injured. Steel beams were carried 34 mile (1.2 km). This tornado became well-known from photographs and videos taken of it.

July 14

  • 1992 – A high-end F2 tornado moved through downtown Kendallville, Indiana, destroying 29 homes and 2 apartment buildings and causing major damage to 49 other homes. A shopping center was also heavily damaged. Twenty-eight people were injured.

July 15

  • 1881 – A significant tornado outbreak impacted Minnesota. A tornado family up to at least F4 (probably F5) intensity completely swept away several farms in Wellington Township and destroyed 47 buildings in New Ulm, killing 20 people. Another F4 tornado killed four people on farms in Fairfield.
  • 1988 – Three tornadoes (F2, F3, and F1 in chronological order), spawned by a mesoscale convective complex, moved on parallel paths through Council Bluffs, Iowa, injuring 88 people. Eighteen homes and three mobiles homes were destroyed and more than 1,000 other structures were damaged. Damage totaled $43 million, equivalent to $96 million in 2023.

July 16

  • 1927 – Strong tornadoes killed nine people in eastern Kansas. An F4 tornado killed two people near Harveyville. Another F4 (possibly F5) tornado obliterated a home near Lebo, killing three people and carrying bodies a quarter mile (400 m) in different directions. An F4 tornado destroyed a village near Shawnee, killing four. An F2 tornado hit the south side of Kansas City, Missouri, destroying four homes and damaging about 200 others.
  • 1979 – An F3 tornado hit the north side of Cheyenne, Wyoming, including the airport, killing an infant and injuring 40 other people. In all, 17 trailers and 140 homes were destroyed 325 homes were damaged. Hangars, National Guard equpiment and four C-130 aircraft were also damaged.

July 17

  • 1903 – An F3 tornado hit the west side of Streator, Illinois, killing six people. Five died when the grandstand of a racetrack collapsed, and a guard died at a factory. A farm west of town was completely destroyed.

July 18

  • 1883 – An F3 tornado passed near Hitchcock, South Dakota sweeping away at least one farm house. At least three people, possibly as many as seven, were killed on one farm.
  • 1996 – An F5 tornado hit Oakfield, Wisconsin, destroying 60 homes, 6, businesses, and 2 churches with 4 homes completely swept away. The tornado injured 12 people but killed none. An F2 tornado killed on person in Marytown, Wisconsin.

July 19

  • 1950 – An F3 tornado hit Lima, Ohio, damaging or destroying 300 homes and injuring 30 people.
  • 2018 – A tornado outbreak hit the Upper Midwest with the greatest impacts in Iowa. An EF3 tornado hit the eastern side of Pella, Iowa, causing major damage to the Vermeer Company facility, where 13 people were injured. Another EF3 tornado caused major damage in Marshalltown, Iowa, injuring 22 people. One other person was injured during cleanup.

July 20


July 21

  • 1983 – A small tornado outbreak hit the Northeastern United States. An F2 tornado caused significant damage near Hartly, Delaware, killing two people and injuring nine. Another F2 tornado moved through Saugatuck, Michigan, creating a wall of water as it crossed the Kalamazoo River, drowning one person. An F3 tornado caused major damage in Stafford, New Jersey.
  • 1987 – An F4 tornado moved through portions of the Teton Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park, destroying about 15,000 acres of trees but causing no human injuries or deaths. The tornado struck forests at elevations of 8,500 to 10,000 feet (2,600 to 3,000 m), the highest altitude at which a violent (F4 or F5) tornado has been recorded in the United States. It was also the strongest tornado on official record in Wyoming.

July 22

  • 1883 – A tornado outbreak in the Upper Midwest, which started the previous day continued into the early morning hours of July 22. An F2 tornado killed two people and injured nine in Dodgeville and Ridgeway, Wisconsin. Another F2 tornado damaged or destroyed every building in Elgin, Minnesota, killing one person and injuring eight. A third F2 tornado killed a person in Cobb, Wisconsin when it removed the second floor of her house.

July 23

  • 1975 – Two F3 tornadoes touched down in Fulton County, Illinois. The second of these caused major damage in the city of Canton, killing two people and injuring 69. About 100 homes and 50 mobile homes were destroyed with 300 homes and 100 mobile homes damaged, along with 127 businesses damaged or destroyed. Electrical power was not restored until 5 days later, with efforts hampered by electrical workers going on strike.

July 24

  • 1930 – One of the few known F5 tornadoes outside the United States struck Volpago del Montello, and devastated several other communities in Veneto, Italy, killing 23 people and injuring 110. Even sturdy masonry buildings were destroyed.

July 25

  • 1934 – An F3 tornado, spawned by a hurricane, struck north of Edna, Texas, killing five people. Four people died in the destruction of a farmhouse. A farmhand was killed a few hundred yards from the house.
  • 2000 – A tornado outbreak hit parts of Minnesota and South Dakota. Most tornadoes from this event were rated F0, but an F4 tornado hit Granite Falls, Minnesota, killing one person and injuring 15. An F2 tornado damaged farm buildings and killed livestock east of Magnolia, Minnesota.

July 23

  • 1890 – An F3 tornado struck the south side of Lawrence, Massachusetts, killing 8 people, injuring 150, and leaving 500 homeless. This storm was part of a tornado family that also produced multiple F1 tornadoes.

July 27

  • 1994 – Tornadoes touched down in Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania. An F3 tornado caused major damage in Limerick, Pennsylvania, where it destroyed much of a development of new homes. Three people died in one family and 25 other people were injured. One man was blown out of his own house and carried 50 feet (15 m) into his neighbors' family room. A savings bond was carried 50 miles (80 km). Another F3 tornado destroyed a development in London Britain Township, Pennsylvania, injuring 11 people. A credit card was carried 30 miles (50 km).

July 28

  • 2005 – A strong F2 tornado, one of the strongest to hit the United Kingdom in living memory, struck Birmingham, England, injuring 19 people. Buildings lost roofs and about 1,100 trees were uprooted. Damage totaled £40 million.

July 29


July 30

  • 1119 – One of the earliest known tornadoes caused major damage to the castle of Vyšehrad in Prague and flattened a stretch of forest. Modern researchers estimate that it reached EF3 intensity.

July 31