Downtown Tornadoes

Selected tornadoes which have hit some part of the central business district of a major city.

Compiled by Roger Edwards (SPC) and Joe Schaefer (ret. SPC)


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CITY DATE DEATHS PEAK DAMAGE
Nashville TN 3 March 2020 5 EF3
Tampa FL 26 February 2013 0 EF0
Springfield MA 1 June 2011 3 EF3
Raleigh NC 16 April 2011 6 EF3
Huntsville AL 21 January 2010 0 EF2
Minneapolis MN 19 August 2009 0 EF0
Shreveport LA 9 April 2009 0 EF2
Atlanta GA 14 March 2008 1 EF2
Des Moines IA 2 October 2007 0 EF1
Fort Worth TX 28 March 2000 2 F2
Salt Lake City UT 11 August 1999 1 F2
Little Rock AR 21 January 1999 3 F3
Nashville TN 16 Apr 1998 1 F3
Miami FL 12 May 1997 0 F1
Houston TX 16 November 1993 0 F1
Shreveport/Bossier City LA 3 December 1978 2 F4
Shreveport LA 17 April 1978 0 F2
Lubbock TX 11 May 1970 26* F5
St. Louis MO 10 February 1959 21 F4
Waco TX 11 May 1953 114 F5
Charleston SC 29 September 1938 27 F2
Nashville TN 14 Mar 1933 15 F3
Indianapolis IN 18 May 1927 2 F3
St. Louis MO 29 September 1927 79 F3
St. Louis MO 27 May 1896 255 F4
Dallas TX 20 January 1894 1 F2
Louisville KY 27 March 1890 76 F4
Washington DC 16 Sep 1888 0 F2
Kansas City MO 13 May 1883 3 F2
St. Louis MO 8 March 1871 9 F3


NOTES:

This is just a partial list of tornadoes in the "downtown" areas of major cities -- here defined as the central business district. This does not include city tornadoes outside immediate downtowns. Tornadoes such as Dallas (2 April 1957), San Antonio (23 February 2017), Mobile (25 December 2012), Oklahoma City (3 May 1999) or Worcester (9 June 1953) which hit the city away from downtown are not included. Neither are tornadoes which hit major suburbs such as Chicago's Oak Lawn (21 April 1967), Moore, Oklahoma (several occasions) or Kansas City's Ruskin Heights (20 May 1957).

*The Lubbock death toll is given as 26 in NCDC records (Storm Data) and 28 according to a tally by Fujita, used in Grazulis (1993).

Fatality tallies are for entire tornado track, not downdown areas specifically.


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