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Just How Common Are Tornadoes In Europe?

posted by janrinok on Wednesday August 14 2019, @11:21AM   
from the that's-a-blow dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

As severe thunderstorms continue to hit parts of Europe, the results can be dramatic.

[A] tornado struck the communities of Pettingen and Kaerjengin, near the border with France and Belgium, leaving a path of destruction that destroyed some 100 houses.

[...] A spokesperson for Luxembourg police reported a "swath of desolation" spanning up to six kilometres. The country's rescue centre said cleanup would take days. Emergency shelters have been set up for those who lost their homes.

On the same day, a tornado swept through Amsterdam's Oosterdok Basin, in the Netherlands, as storms hit the region. No injuries were reported and the damage was minimal.

Tornadoes are less common in Europe than in the United States, where Tornado Alley in the Midwest experiences hundreds every year. So far this year, there have been 1,300 confirmed tornadoes in the US. While Europe's tornado touchdowns are not as frequent, every year between 200 and 400 occurrences are reported. Italy and Greece see more tornado activity, as the warm, moist Mediterranean air clashes with the cool, dryer air over the mountains.

[...] The United Kingdom also sees a high number of tornadoes, averaging between 30 and 50 each year. That is more tornadoes average land area than anywhere in the world, apart from the Netherlands.

[...] Most tornadoes that develop across Europe have much less damaging effect than those in the US, but Luxembourg on Friday was one exception, as was the case in 2005 in Birmingham in the UK. The 2005 tornado lasted for approximately 10 minutes, with wind speeds up to 233km/h. It uprooted about 1,000 trees, injured 19 people and caused damage of around 40 million British pounds ($49m).

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Original Submission

• "multimedia at its worst" "multimedia at its worst" (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @05:15PM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @05:15PM (#880354)

  "[...]
  A spokesperson for Luxembourg police reported a "swath of desolation" spanning up to six kilometres. The country's rescue centre said cleanup would take days. Emergency shelters have been set up for those who lost their homes."

  the following link provides a desolate image of the destruction:
  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/common-tornadoes-europe-190811105500162.html [aljazeera.com]
  the "desolation" is ONE random image from "somewhere" or "other".

• Re:"multimedia at its worst" (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday August 14 2019, @08:35PM

  by Freeman (732) on Wednesday August 14 2019, @08:35PM (#880514) Journal

  I love this part:

  The United Kingdom also sees a high number of tornadoes, averaging between 30 and 50 each year. That is more tornadoes average land area than anywhere in the world, apart from the Netherlands.

  Sure, I can believe that, if you're comparing entire countries.

  The UK covers approximately 94,060 square miles and has an average of 30-50 each year.
  Oklahoma covers approximately 69,899 square miles and has an average of 56 each year from 1950 to 2018. With as few as 17 in a year and up to as many as 145 in a single year.

  How many of the UK's average tornadoes are EF3-EF5? EF0-EF2 are a walk in the park, comparatively.

  Although tornadoes of any intensity can be deadly, higher-end twisters have historically killed a larger percentage of people. About half of the deaths from 2000 through 2013 were from tornadoes rated EF4 or EF5, according to data from Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel.

  https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/2018-03-29-ef5-f5-tornadoes-history [weather.com]
  That figure goes up to over 80% of the deaths occurred with EF3-EF5 tornadoes.

  --
  Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"

  Parent