August 2008 European tornado outbreak
| Date of tornado outbreak: | August 3–4, 2008 |
| Duration1: | ~2 days |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F4 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | 13 confirmed |
| Damages: | Several million Euros |
| Fatalities: | 3 + 1 non-tornadic |
| Areas affected: | Germany, Netherlands, France, and Poland |
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1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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The August 2008 European tornado outbreak was a widespread severe weather event which spawned ten tornadoes in four countries, one of which killed three people in France and may have reached F4 intensity.[1]
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[edit] Meteorological synopsis
On August 3, several areas of low pressure developed. Frontal systems extended from one of the lows, stretching from the Azores to the Germany coastline.
[edit] Confirmed tornadoes
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 13 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| List of reported tornadoes - Sunday, August 3, 2008 | ||||||
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| Germany | ||||||
| F0 | N of Langeneß (1st tornado) | Schleswig-Holstein | 54°40′N 8°36′E / 54.66°N 8.6°E | 1150 | unknown | A brief waterspout developed near the coast of northern Germany. The waterspout dissipated before reaching shore.[2] |
| F1 | N of Langeneß (2nd tornado) | Schleswig-Holstein | 54°40′N 8°36′E / 54.66°N 8.6°E | 1150 | unknown | The second of two waterspouts near Langeneß developed in the same location as the first but briefly tracked onshore, tossing beach chairs before dissipating.[2] |
| F0 | N of Büsum | Schleswig-Holstein | 1300 | unknown | A brief waterspout developed near Büsum.[2] | |
| F0 | N of Norderney | Lower Saxony | 1453 | unknown | A brief waterspout developed near Norderney.[2] | |
| F2 | Goldenstedt area | Lower Saxony | 52°47′N 8°26′E / 52.78°N 8.43°E | 2115 | 4 km (2.5 mi) | The strongest tornado to touch down in Germany during the outbreak struck Goldenstedt. Numerous homes were damaged by the tornado and several trees were uprooted.[2] |
| Netherlands | ||||||
| F1 | Oostermeer area | Friesland | 53°10′N 6°03′E / 53.17°N 6.05°E | 1745 | unknown | A tornado tracked for 25 minutes in Friesland and damaged large areas of trees and tore roofs off of several homes.[3] |
| F2 | Groningen area | Groningen | 53°12′N 6°15′E / 53.20°N 6.25°E | 1845 | unknown | A strong F2 tornado damaged or destroyed several homes and barns and uprooted numerous trees. The maximum width of the tornado was estimated at 200 metres Dozens of people were reportedly injured by the tornado and damages exceeded €100,000.[3] |
| France | ||||||
| F4 | Hautmont area | Nord | 50°15′N 3°56′E / 50.25°N 3.93°E | 2200 | 18.7 km (11.6 mi) | 3 deaths – See section on this tornado |
| List of reported tornadoes - Monday, August 4, 2008 | ||||||
| Germany | ||||||
| F1 | Deckbergen area | Lower Saxony | 0258 | 2.5 km (1.6 mi) | A 200 to 300 metre wide tornado damaged several residences.[2] | |
| F1 | Birkenau area | Hesse | 49°34′N 8°43′E / 49.56°N 8.71°E | 0650 | 330 m (360 yd) | A brief and narrow tornado several homes and tore bricks off of the local firehouse.[2] |
| Poland | ||||||
| F0 | Augustów area | Podlaskie Voivodeship | 53°51′N 23°00′E / 53.85°N 23.00°E | 1400 | 200 m (0.12 mi) | A brief rope tornado touched down in Augustów |
| F0 | Świdnik area | Lublin Voivodeship | 51°15′N 22°52′E / 51.25°N 22.86°E | 1510 | 200 m (0.12 mi) | A brief rope tornado touched down in Świdnik |
| F2 | Jastkowice area | Subcarpathian Voivodeship | 50°37′N 22°06′E / 50.62°N 22.10°E | 1615 | unknown | |
[edit] Hautmont tornado
The 2008 Hautmont, France tornado was a powerful tornado which touched down near the town of Hautmont, France late on August 3, 2008. The tornado left a path of destruction about 19 kilometres (12 mi) long through several small towns.[4] The hardest hit town was Hautmont, where three people were killed and another nine were injured by the tornado. Another man committed suicide after the tornado had destroyed his home.[5] Among the four who died were the Deputy Mayor of Hautmont and his wife, who were found underneath the rubble of their home the day after the tornado struck.[6][7]
The three other towns affected by the tornado were Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesnil and Boussieres-sur-Sambre.[7] In total, about 1000 homes were damaged, with 250 rendered uninhabitable.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ (French)"Section : Tornade dans le Nord le 3 août 2008". Bilan de l'année 2008. Météo-France. http://france.meteofrance.com/jsp/site/Portal.jsp?page_id=10279&document_id=20196&portlet_id=41787. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g (German) Thomas Sävert (2009). "2008 Germany tornadoes". Tornado Liste. http://www.tornadoliste.de/tornadoliste2008.htm. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
- ^ a b (Dutch) Reinout van den Born (August 4, 2008). "Grote schade door windhozen". Meteo Zwolle. http://www.meteozwolle.nl/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=15&Itemid=114. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
- ^ a b "French Observatory of Tornadoes and Severe Storms". Keraunos. http://www.keraunos.org/tornade-hautmont-maubeuge-boussieres-f4-aout-2008.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ "'Like a bomb': four die after tornado hits French towns". AFP. 2008-08-03. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g98PdFETeKjYIj0FEuijRgAXjILw.
- ^ "European Severe Weather Database". EWSD. 2008-08-03. http://essl.org/ESWD/.
- ^ a b "Tornado in Hautmont in the north of France causes havoc and deaths". http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/1603/36/. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
[edit] External links
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