Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Tornadoes of 1981
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1981, primarily in the United States. 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.
Remove ads
Synopsis
Numbers for 1981 were below average, both in terms of number of tornadoes and number of fatalities.
Remove ads
Events
January
Only two tornadoes touched down in January, both were rated F0 and took place in California.
February
There were 25 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in February, injuring 82 people.
February 10–11
The first fatal tornadoes of the year occurred during a relatively small outbreak between February 10 and 11. Two F2 tornadoes, one in Walker County, Texas and the other in Hoke/Cumberland County, North Carolina, killed one person each.
Remove ads
March
There were 33 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in March.
March 30
One person was killed by an F2 tornado in Hertford County, North Carolina.
April
Summarize
Perspective
There were 84 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in April. Most of the year's fatalities took place during the month, with 13 people perishing.
April 3
At approximately 10:55 PM, a tornado—later determined to be an F4—touched down north of Wilson Park in Granite City, Illinois, and began tracking northeast. As it strengthened, it damaged or destroyed 31 homes in northeast Granite before proceeding to Pontoon Beach, where it severely damaged 20 more mobile homes and residences. According to reports, it sheared trees, moved/overturned several vehicles, and reportedly drove a pair of hand-hedge trimmers into a telephone pole.[3]
The tornado lifted for a short period before touching back down east of the intersection of Interstate 270 and Illinois Route 157, overturning and damaging two tractor trailers.[4]
It briefly lifted again—still moving northeast—before touching back down and striking Edwardsville, Illinois, where it severely damaged or destroyed residences and businesses.[5] Reports described a transformer being blown about 1/2 of a block, boards and limbs being driven/embedded into walls and windshields, as well as pieces of linoleum being driven underneath the molding over the vinyl roof of a car.[6]
The strength of the circulation then wavered before dissipating near the northern edge of Edwardsville.
Between Granite City and Edwardsville, the tornado tracked approximately 12 miles northeast, reaching a peak width of 567 yards. There were 32 direct injuries, and 0 fatalities reported. The tornado caused a total of $25M in property damage.[7]
April 4
A rare anticyclonic tornado struck West Bend, Wisconsin at F4 intensity, killing three people and injuring 53 others. It was part of a small outbreak that produced five tornadoes with 10 additional injuries also taking place.
April 19
Five people were killed in Bixby, Oklahoma by an F3 tornado.
Remove ads
May
There were 187 tornadoes in the US in May.
May 22–23
An outbreak of 43 tornadoes occurred in areas from Western Oklahoma to Central Iowa. A large F4 tornado struck Scott, Oklahoma northeast of Binger. The outbreak injured 12 people, but there were no fatalities.
Remove ads
June
There were 223 tornadoes in the US in June, resulting in eight fatalities.
June 3
A small tornado outbreak affected Colorado, including the Denver metro area.[8]
June 13
An F3 tornado killed four people in Cardington, Ohio.
July
There were 98 tornadoes in the US in July.
July 30
An F3 tornado in North Dakota tracked through Bismarck and Mandan without causing any fatalities or injuries.
August
There were 64 tornadoes in the US in August.
September
There were 26 tornadoes in the US in September.
October
There were 32 tornadoes in the US in October.
October 2 (Italy)
Two tornadoes touched down in italy, including one in Ostia Antica that injured 5 people, while causing significant damage to buildings and scattering debris long distances.[9]
October 6 (Netherlands)
A damaging tornado caused significant damage to buildings in Moerdijk, Netherlands. As the tornado was dissipating, NLM CityHopper Flight 431 flew unknowingly into the tornado and crashed, causing 18 fatalities; all 17 on board were killed as well as one on-ground fatality, caused by a cardiac arrest.[10]
October 11-12 (Czech Republic & Denmark)
An F2 tornado struck the towns Rájec-Jestřebí & Karolín in Czech Republic along a 3km path. The next day, An F2 tornado destroyed a barn in Lemvig Municipality in Denmark.[11]
November
There were seven tornadoes in the US in November.
November 1 (Poland)
An F2 tornado caused heavy damages to a forest in Blizyn.[12]
November 23-24 (UK, Denmark & Germany)
A large tornado outbreak occurred across the UK, Denmark and Germany, with a vast majority occurring in the UK, mainly in central England and Wales. About 107 tornadoes were reported to have touched down in what remains the largest tornado outbreak in European history. 104 tornadoes touched down in the United Kingdom during a span of less than 6 hours on November 23.[13] On the following day, 3 tornadoes were reported in Denmark and Germany combined.[14]
December
There was one tornado in the US in December.
See also
- Tornado
- List of tornado outbreaks
- List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of 21st-century Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of European tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks in Asia
- List of Southern Hemisphere tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of tornadoes striking downtown areas
- Tornado intensity
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads