Tornadoes of 1995

Tornadoes of 1995

The Dimmitt, Texas tornado
Timespan	January - December 1995
Maximum rated tornado	F4 tornado 11 locations on 6 different days
Tornadoes in U.S.	1,236
Damage (U.S.)	Unknown
Fatalities (U.S.)	30
Fatalities (worldwide)	>70

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1995, 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, but by the 1990s, tornado statistics were coming closer to the numbers seen today.

Synopsis

Fatal United States tornadoes in 1995

class=notpageimage| Approximate touchdown location of killer tornadoes in 1995 Summary of tornadoes January 6 – North Carolina (1 death) January 7 – Florida (1 death) January 18 – Louisiana (1 death) February 16 – Alabama (6 deaths) April 11 – Mississippi (1 death) May 7 – Texas (1 death) May 7 – Texas (2 deaths) May 7 – Texas, Oklahoma (3 deaths) May 13 – Indiana (3 deaths) May 18 – Tennessee (3 deaths) May 18 – Alabama (1 death) May 29 – Massachusetts (3 deaths) October 4 – Florida (1 death) November 10 – Arkansas (2 deaths) December 19 – Florida (1 death) June 26 - Ohio (0 deaths) Total fatalities: 30

The season peaked in May with a near-record of 392 tornadoes that month. June brought over 200 tornadoes, including several that became famous for their videos. The death total for the year was relatively low at 30 (fewest since 1986).

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1995 in the United States.

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	822	234	98	20	12	0	1,236

January

There were 36 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in January. A total of three people were killed in the Southeast US from separate tornadoes during the month.

February

There were seven tornadoes confirmed in the United States in February. An F3 tornado on February 16 killed six people and injured 130 in Arab, Alabama, making it the tornado responsible for the most deaths in 1995.

February 13 (Ireland)

A tornado struck the town of Youghal, in County Cork. At 7:20 am GMT, the tornado began over the sea and moved onshore, where it struck a campsite. Here, mobile homes were picked up and thrown up to 20 m away, some of which were destroyed. Roofs and chimneys were damaged as well. The tornado traveled for 3 km, and was 50 metres wide. No casualties were reported. It is the strongest tornado ever recorded in Ireland.

March

There were 49 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in March.

April

There were 130 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in April.

May

There were 392 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in May.

May 6–27

Main articles: Tornado outbreak sequence of May 6–27, 1995 and 1995 Anderson Hills tornado

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
0	137	84	39	14	4	0

A long-lived series of deadly tornado outbreaks occurred throughout almost the entire month of May; 13 deaths occurred due to the outbreaks. Nearly 300 tornadoes, including four that were rated F4, occurred during this period from the Central US through the Southeast and into the Mid-Atlantic.

May 29

Main article: 1995 Great Barrington tornado

An unusual F4 tornado killed three people in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. A car was thrown 1000 ft, which was the basis for the F4 rating.

June

There were 216 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in June.

June 2

An F3 tornado scraped the south side of Friona, Texas before maturing into a major wedge east of town. A dozen injuries were reported, but no fatalities.

An F2 tornado near Dimmitt, Texas was covered closely by the Probe 1 Vortex team, making it "the most comprehensively observed tornado in history." The tornado resulted in 3 injuries.

June 5

A large wedge-shaped tornado crossed Highway 70 near Dougherty, Texas as it tracked southeast.

June 8

Main article: Tornado outbreak of June 8, 1995

Several tornadoes in the Texas Panhandle caused widespread destruction on June 8, 1995. The Pampa F4 tornado, among the first tornadoes of the day, struck the industrial section of the town. Storm chasers and meteorologists Alan Moller and Charles A. Doswell III were in the town when the tornado began and were able to capture significant photos and video as the tornado tore through the city. As the Pampa, Texas tornado began to dissipate, the initial ground circulation for the second and larger tornado from that supercell began at 4:50 pm east of Pampa and developed into a large, intense tornado as it passed just north of the Rufe Jordan Unit Prison. This tornado is called the "Hoover Tornado" by storm chasers since it passed close to the small community of Hoover, Texas northeast of Pampa. The Hoover, Texas tornado was rated F5 by storm chaser Martin Lisius and meteorologist Dr. Herbert Fiala based on video photogrammetry the team conducted after the event. Two other intense tornadoes spawned later by a separate supercell near Allison and Kellerville, Texas were also captured on video. None of those tornadoes caused fatalities. The Kellerville tornado has been debated to be of F5 strength, though the final National Weather Service rating was F4. Both the Hoover and Kellerville tornadoes were especially intense and removed asphalt from roadways leaving only dirt behind as shown in the documentary film, "The Chasers of Tornado Alley" produced by Martin Lisius.

June 26

Several tornadoes along Northwest Ohio formed causing widespread destruction, the worst of this outbreak was an F4 tornado that touched down near rout 269 in open farmland. Ohio was not expected to get any severe weather on this date however as the day quickly rolled in around 2:35pm a small but powerful super cell thunderstorm began to track down towards Northwest Ohio. Around 3:11pm a small string like twister formed in open farmland in Castalia, Ohio by route 269. The tornado quickly formed into a multi vortex as it crossed over towards Bardwell Rd moving northeast onto Maple Av and Bogart Rd. As the Castalia tornado continued to head north devastating homes along Bogart and Maple it eventually tracked towards Sandusky, Ohio. Upon reaching the outskirts of Castalia, the national weather service issued a tornado emergency for Erie County, Ohio towards Sandusky. The violent storm continued its path of destruction, leveling buildings, uprooting trees, as the tornado arrived in Sandusky it began to cause major damage as it reached its most intense peak with wind speeds up to 198mph and leaving a trail of debris. As the tornado tracked through Sandusky it eventually hit Lake Erie where It soon turned into a waterspout. The tornado ultimately dissipating near Cedar Point amusement park, marking one of the most powerful and destructive storms in Ohio’s history. It was also the weirdest tornado to form due to tracking towards a large body of water. Fortunately there were no deaths during this tornado but it still devastated communities

July

There were 162 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in July.

August

There were 53 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in August.

September

There were 19 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in September.

October

There were 74 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in October.

October 6 (Dominican Republic)

An F2 tornado destroyed several homes, killing two people in La Caleta near International Airport Las Americas. It's the only tornado known in the Dominican Republic to take out people's lives and, therefore, the deadliest in the country's history.

November

There were 79 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in November.

November 7

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
0	21	13	6	0	1	0

A moderate tornado outbreak took place mainly over North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, with 41 tornadoes confirmed in total. 28 tornadoes were confirmed in South Carolina alone, which made it the largest tornado outbreak in the state at the time until the Hurricane Frances tornado outbreak in 2004, when 42 tornadoes touched down in that state. A rare, short lived F4 tornado touched down just east of Marion, South Carolina, although the rating is disputed. It would be the last F4/EF4+ tornado confirmed in South Carolina until April 13, 2020.

November 10–11

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
0	9	19	3	2	0	0

An F2 tornado killed two people north of Des Arc, Arkansas during the overnight hours of November 11.

December

There were 18 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in December.

See also

• Tornado
  • Tornadoes by year
  • Tornado records
  • Tornado climatology
  • Tornado myths
• 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
  • Fujita scale
  • Enhanced Fujita scale

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1995^[usurped] - Tornado History Project
• Tornadoes of 1995 (The Tornado Project)
• Tornado deaths monthly