Tornado Facts
- Britain has about 40 tornadoes a year – more per square mile than any other country in the world.
- The deadliest tornado in history struck Bangladesh on 26 April 1989, killing 1300 people.
- On 18 March 1925, the Great Tri-State Tornado crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, then into southwestern Indiana. It was the deadliest tornado in US history, with 695 fatalities.
- Over the last 50 years in the US, Texas has been hit by more tornadoes than any other state. Since 1950, nearly 5500 tornadoes have struck Texas; that's an average of 110 each year.
- The biggest tornado outbreak on record happened in the US on 3 and 4 April 1974. In 16 hours, 148 tornadoes were recorded across 13 states. Over a damage path covering more than 2500 miles, 330 people were killed and 5484 were injured.
- The Birmingham Tornado of July 2005 damaged 1000 homes, 90 businesses and injured 22 people after a touch down of four minutes.
- On average Britain is hit by a tornado the size of the Birmingham Tornado every two years, but they mostly form over countryside where they do less damage. Such tornadoes form over urban areas once in every 5-10 years.