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List of tornadoes by width
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This is a list of tornadoes by their official and unofficial width. The average width of a tornado according to the National Weather Service is 50 yards (46 m).[1] The official widest tornado in history is the 2013 El Reno tornado, which had a confirmed width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km), with the World Meteorological Organization believing the width could have been up to 1 mile (1.6 km) wider.[2]
 | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Lots of tornadoes are poorly listed, flipping between radar measurements, inaccurate historical logs, and back to official archives, making the data inaccurate and incomplete. (January 2025) |
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List
Width of at least 2 miles (3.2 km)
More information Tornado, Width ...
| Tornado | F#/EF#/IF# | Width | Rated by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Mulhall tornado | F4 | 4.3 miles (6.9 km) | NWS Norman, CSWR, Wurman, OU, Penn State |
| Officially, this tornado was just over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. A Doppler on Wheels (DOW) mobile radar observed this tornado as it crossed Mulhall. The DOW documented the largest-ever-observed core flow circulation with a distance of 1,600 m (5,200 ft) between peak velocities on either side of the tornado, and a roughly 7 km (4.3 mi) width of peak wind gusts exceeding 43 m/s (96 mph), making the Mulhall tornado the largest tornado ever measured quantitatively.[3] | |||
| 1946 Timber Lake tornado | FU | 4.0 miles (6.4 km) | USWB |
| The United States Weather Bureau published in 1946 stating the width of the tornado was 4 miles (6.4 km), which would make this the widest tornado ever officially documented in history. However, this is outside the period of reliable documentation accepted by the modern National Weather Service, which is 1950–present.[4] | |||
| 2013 El Reno tornado | EF3 | 2.6 miles (4.2 km) | NWS Norman, OU |
| This is officially the widest tornado to ever occur, with a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km) at its peak. This is the width found by the National Weather Service based on preliminary data from University of Oklahoma RaXPol mobile radar that also sampled winds of 296 mph (476 km/h), which was used to upgrade the tornado to EF5.[5] However, it was revealed that these winds did not impact any structures, and as a result the tornado was downgraded to EF3 based on damage.[6] | |||
| 1984 Maxton–Red Springs tornado | F4 | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | NWS Wilmington, NC |
| The National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina stated this tornado was 2.5 miles (4.0 km) at a point in time.[7] | |||
| 2004 Hallam tornado | F4 | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | NWS Omaha/Valley |
| Prior to the 2013 El Reno tornado, this tornado held the official record as the widest tornado to ever occur.[8][9] | |||
| 2016 Jiangsu tornado | EF4 | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | CMA, OU, NJU, Weathernews Inc. |
| This tornado is the widest tornado to ever occur in China and officially is tied as the 2nd widest tornado in history.[10] | |||
| 1896 Seneca–Oneida tornado | F5 | 2–2.5 miles (3.2–4.0 km) | National Weather Service Wichita, Kansas |
| The tornado averaged 1 mi (1.6 km) mile in width, but expanded significantly to between 2 mi (3.2 km) and 2.5 mi (4.0 km) as it approached Reserve, Kansas, where all but three buildings were damaged or destroyed.[11] | |||
| 2020 Bassfield–Soso tornado | EF4 | 2.25 miles (3.62 km) | NWS Jackson, MS |
| This tornado was documented by the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi to have been 2.25 miles (3.62 km) wide, setting the record as the widest tornado to occur in the state of Mississippi.[12] | |||
| 1935 Melbourne tornado | F0 | 2.239 miles (3.603 km) | BoM |
| The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) documented that this weak tornado was 3,603 metres (2.239 mi; 3.603 km) wide.[13] | |||
| 2007 Trousdale tornado | EF3 | 2.2 miles (3.5 km) | NWS Dodge City |
| The high-end EF3 tornado had a recorded width of 2.2 miles (3.5 km).[14] | |||
| 2021 South Moravia tornado | F4/IF4 | 2.2 miles (3.5 km) | ESSL, CHMI, CUNI, Meteopress, SHMU, CU, Geosphere, Austrocontrol, BUT |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2.2 miles (3.5 km), setting the record as the widest tornado to ever occur in the Czech Republic and in Europe.[15][16] | |||
| 1456 Italy Tornado | FU | 2.0 miles (3.2 km) | Chatfield, Machiavelli |
| A tornado that grew up to 2 miles (3.2 km) wide started as a waterspout off the coast of Italy, came ashore near Ancona, and traveled across the entire country moving from east to west before retreating back into the ocean on the opposite side of the country near Pisa.[17] Niccolò Machiavelli writes a very detailed description of this storm in his book Florentine Histories.[18] | |||
| 2008 Pardeeville tornado | EF2 | 2.0 miles (3.2 km) | NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan |
| This tornado was extremely wide since the thunderstorm cloud base was very low and the mesocyclone that is usually aloft was well-formed all the way to the ground. Within a broad 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) wide area of EF0 to EF1 damage, there were several small swaths of EF2 damage due to multiple vortices.[19] | |||
| 1967 Belvidere tornado | F4 | 2.0 miles (3.2 km) | NWS Chicago |
| The widest significant tornado recorded in the Chicago collar counties. 24 deaths and 500 injuries.[20] | |||
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Width of 1–2 miles (1.6–3.2 km)
More information Tornado, Width ...
| Tornado | F#/EF#/IF# | Width | Rated by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 Javaugues tornado | F3/EF3 | 1.864 miles (3.000 km) | ESSL, Keraunos, TORRO |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 3,280 yards (1.86 mi; 3.00 km), setting the record as the widest tornado ever occurred in France while moving along an unusual northwestward path.[21][22] | |||
| 2024 Decatur, Arkansas tornado | EF3 | 1.82 miles (2.93 km) | NWS Tulsa |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 3,200 yards (1.8 mi; 2.9 km), it holds the record as the largest tornado to ever occur in Arkansas.[23] | |||
| 1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornado | F5 | 1.8 miles (2.9 km) | NWS Norman |
| Widest tornado in Texas and deadliest tornado in Oklahoma.[24] | |||
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 3,130 yards (1.78 mi; 2.86 km), making it the largest tornado to ever occur in Iowa and the largest ever EF1 tornado.[25] | |||
| 2010 Yazoo City tornado | EF4 | 1.75 miles (2.82 km) | NWS |
| This tornado had a width of 3,080 yards (1.75 mi; 2.82 km), making it the largest tornado in Mississippi at the time (until a wider tornado almost ten years later broke the record). | |||
| 2007 Greensburg tornado | EF5 | 1.7 miles (2.7 km) | NWS Dodge City |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 3,000 yards (1.7 mi; 2.7 km).[26] | |||
| 2024 Rogers, Arkansas tornado | EF2 | 1.7 miles (2.7 km) | NWS Tulsa |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 3,000 yards (1.7 mi; 2.7 km).[27] | |||
| 2025 Pittsburgh-Blanco tornado | EF3 | 2,972 yards (1.689 mi; 2.718 km) | NWS Tulsa, OK |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,972 yards (1.689 mi; 2.718 km) as it impacted the town of Blanco, OK.[28] | |||
| 2011 Vilonia tornado | EF2 | 1.65 miles (2.66 km) | NWS Little Rock |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,900 yards (1.6 mi; 2.7 km).[29] | |||
| 1625 Toropets tornado | F4 | 1.553 miles (2.499 km) | ESSL |
| This long-tracked tornado reached a maximum width of 2,730 yards (1.55 mi; 2.50 km), setting the record as the widest tornado ever occurred in Russia.[30] | |||
| 1967 Pommereuil tornado | F4/EF4 | 1.553 miles (2.499 km) | ESSL, Keraunos |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,730 yards (1.55 mi; 2.50 km).[31] | |||
| 2011 Cordova–Blountsville tornado | EF4 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | NWS Birmingham |
| A large tornado moved across Alabama, reaching a maximum width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km).[32] | |||
| 2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado | EF4 | 1.48 miles (2.38 km) | NWS Birmingham |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,600 yards (1.5 mi; 2.4 km) and was the costliest tornado ever before the Joplin tornado.[33] | |||
| 2021 Western Kentucky tornado | EF4 | 1.48 miles (2.38 km) | NWS Paducah, Marshall, NWS Omaha |
| This long-tracked tornado reached a maximum width of 2,600 yards (1.5 mi; 2.4 km).[34] | |||
| 1987 Teton–Yellowstone tornado | F4 | 1.44 miles (2.32 km) | NWS, Forest Service |
| This tornado had a maximum width of 2,550 yards (1.45 mi; 2.33 km). | |||
| 2017 Natchitoches tornado | EF1 | 1.4 miles (2.3 km) | NWS Shreveport |
| A large but weak wedge tornado reached a peak width of 1.4 miles (2.3 km), making it the largest tornado in Louisiana and the largest EF1 tornado to ever occur.[35] | |||
| 2013 Wayne tornado | EF4 | 1.38 miles (2.22 km) | NWS |
| A large and violent tornado hit Nebraska, reaching a maximum width of 2,429 yards (2.221 km).[36] | |||
| 2025 Dryfork tornado | EF1 | 2,300 yards (1.3 mi; 2.1 km) | NWS Tulsa, OK |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,300 yards (1.3 mi; 2.1 km).[37] | |||
| 2010 Bolotovo tornado | F3 | 1.3 miles (2.1 km) | ESSL |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,300 yards (1.3 mi; 2.1 km).[38] | |||
| 2025 Stilwell tornado | EF1 | 2,200 yards (1.3 mi; 2.0 km) | NWS Tulsa, OK |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,200 yards (1.3 mi; 2.0 km).[39] | |||
| 2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado | EF5 | 1.25 miles (2.01 km) | NWS Huntsville |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,200 yards (1.3 mi; 2.0 km) while at peak EF5 intensity.[40] | |||
| 2025 Bingham–Ashby tornado | EF2 | 1.25 miles (2.01 km) | NWS North Platte |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,200 yards (1.3 mi; 2.0 km).[41] | |||
| 1795 Vidzeme region tornado | FU | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) | ESSL |
| The widest Latvian tornado with a maximum width of 2,187 yards (1.243 mi; 2.000 km).[42] | |||
| 1836 Polack tornado | F3 | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) | ESSL |
| The widest Belarussian tornado with a maximum width of 2,187 yards (1.243 mi; 2.000 km).[43] | |||
| 1862 Żerków tornado | F4 | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) | ESSL |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,187 yards (1.243 mi; 2.000 km).[44] | |||
| 1924 Pilisvörösvár tornado | F4 | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) | ESSL |
| The widest tornado in Hungary with a maximum width of 2,187 yards (1.243 mi; 2.000 km). Suspected to be an F5.[45] | |||
| 2003 Jemielnica tornado | F3 | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) | ESSL |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,187 yards (1.243 mi; 2.000 km) and tied with Żerków tornado as the widest tornado ever occurred in Poland.[46] | |||
| 2008 Lakhoma tornado | F2 | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) | ESSL |
| This northwestward-moving tornado reached a maximum width of 2,187 yards (1.243 mi; 2.000 km).[47] | |||
| 2008 Parkersburg–New Hartford tornado | EF5 | 1.2 miles (1.9 km) | NWS |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 2,112 yards (1.200 mi; 1.931 km). | |||
| 2007 Hopewell tornado | EF3 | 1.199 miles (1.930 km) | NWS Dodge City |
| The high-end EF3 tornado had a recorded width of 2,110 yards (1.20 mi; 1.93 km).[48] | |||
| 2023 Covington tornado | EF3 | 2,000 yards (1.136 mi; 1.829 km) | NWS Memphis |
| This tornado, which had initially been surveyed by Tipton County emergency management as being 3.5 mi (5.6 km) wide, was determined by a survey to have still reached a width of 2,000 yd (1.136 mi; 1.829 km).[49] | |||
| 2025 Imogene-Essex tornado | EF1 | 1,917 yards (1.089 mi; 1.753 km) | NWS Omaha |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,917 yards (1.089 mi; 1.753 km).[50] Its width was initially put at 3,130 yards (1.78 mi; 2.86 km), which would have made it the largest tornado in Iowa and the largest ever EF1 tornado, but this number was later revised.[51] | |||
| 2013 Moore tornado | EF5 | 1.1 miles (1.8 km) | NWS Norman, OU, Marshall |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,900 yards (1.1 mi; 1.7 km).[52] | |||
| 2023 Jonesboro tornado | EF2 | 1.095 miles (1.762 km) | NWS Shreveport |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,928 yards (1.095 mi; 1.763 km).[53] | |||
| 1984 Bolshoe Sartovo tornado | F3 | 1.080 miles (1.738 km) | ESSL, Chernokulsky, Shikhov[54] |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,903 yards (1.081 mi; 1.740 km).[55] | |||
| 1888 Bermuda Waterspout | FU | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | Chatfield |
| The steamship Avon reported a waterspout off the coast of Bermuda that was at least 1 mile (1.6 km) wide.[56] | |||
| 2007 Svetlogorsk tornado | F2 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | ESSL |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km).[57] | |||
| 2011 Joplin tornado | EF5 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | NWS Springfield |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km) and holds the record as the costliest tornado ever.[58] | |||
| 2011 El Reno–Piedmont tornado | EF5 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | NWS Norman |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km).[59] | |||
| 2012 Bol'nitsa tornado | F3 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | ESSL |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km).[60] | |||
| 2013 Krutoy Log tornado | F3 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | ESSL |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km).[61] | |||
| 2024 Custer City tornado | EF2 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | NWS Norman |
| This multi-vortex EF2 tornado, which prompted a tornado emergency for Custer County, Oklahoma,[62] was accompanied by significant rear flank downdraft winds exceeding 100 mph (160 km/h), with the total path width being 2.7 miles (4.3 km) wide. A Ka-POL doppler radar, operated by Texas Tech University, recorded a wind speed of 87.9 m/s (197 mph; 316 km/h) while verifying the tornado's actual width.[63] | |||
| 2024 Spaulding–Holdenville tornado | EF3 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | NWS Norman |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km).[64] | |||
| 2025 Plevna tornado | EF3 | 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km) | NWS Wichita, KS |
| This EF-3 tornado, produced by a powerful and cyclic supercell, reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km) as it approached the town of Plevna, KS, prompting the issuance of a tornado emergency.[65] | |||
| 1953 Sarnia tornado | F4 | 1.0 mile (1.6 km) | NWS, TWN |
| This tornado reached a maximum width of 1,760 yards (1.00 mi; 1.61 km), it holds the record as the largest tornado in Canada. | |||
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See also
- Weather records
- List of tropical cyclone extremes
- Tornado myths
- List of F5, EF5, and IF5 tornadoes
- List of F4, EF4, and IF4 tornadoes
- List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of schools struck by tornadoes
- List of tornado-related deaths at schools
- List of tornadoes with confirmed satellite tornadoes
References
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