Asia Supercells occur commonly from March to May in Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the bordering northeastern Indian states including Tripura. Supercells that produce very high winds with hail and occasional tornadoes are observed in these regions. They also occur along the Northern Plains of India and Pakistan. On March 23, 2013, a massive tornado ripped through Brahmanbaria district in Bangladesh, killing 20 and injuring 200.
Australia On New Year's Day 1947 a supercell hit
Sydney. The classic type supercell formed over the Blue Mountains, mid-morning hitting the lower CBD and eastern suburbs by mid-afternoon with the hail similar in size to a cricket ball. At the time, it was the most
severe storm to strike the city since recorded observations began in 1792. On April 14, 1999,
a severe storm later classified as a supercell hit the east coast of New South Wales. It is estimated that the storm dropped worth of hailstones during its course. At the time it was the most costly disaster in Australia's insurance history, causing an approximated A$2.3 billion worth of damage, of which A$1.7 billion was covered by insurance. On February 27, 2007, a supercell hit
Canberra, dumping nearly of ice in
Civic. The ice was so heavy that a newly built shopping center's roof collapsed, birds were killed in the hail produced from the supercell, and people were stranded. The following day many homes in Canberra were subjected to flash flooding, caused either by the city's infrastructure's inability to cope with storm water or through mud slides from cleared land. On 6 March 2010,
supercell storms hit
Melbourne. The storms caused flash flooding in the center of the city and tennis ball-sized () hailstones hit cars and buildings, causing more than $220 million worth of damage and sparking 40,000-plus insurance claims. In just 18 minutes, of rain fell, causing havoc as streets were flooded and trains, planes, and cars were brought to a standstill. That same month, on
March 22, 2010 a supercell hit
Perth. This storm was one of the worst in the city's history, causing hail stones of in size and torrential rain. The city had its average March rainfall in just seven minutes during the storm. Hail stones caused severe property damage, from dented cars to smashed windows. The storm itself caused more than 100 million dollars in damage. On
November 27, 2014 a supercell hit the inner city suburbs including the CBD of
Brisbane. Hailstones up to softball size cut power to 71,000 properties, injuring 39 people, and causing a damage bill of $1 billion AUD. A wind gust of 141 km/h was recorded at
Archerfield Airport South America , Brazil, on December 28, 2024. , Argentina, on January 6, 2025. An area in South America known as the
Tornado Corridor is considered to be the second most frequent location for severe weather, after Tornado Alley in the United States. The region, which covers portions of
Argentina,
Uruguay,
Paraguay, and
Brazil during the spring and summer, often experiences strong thunderstorms which may include tornadoes. One of the first known South American supercell thunderstorms to include tornadoes occurred on September 16, 1816, and destroyed the town of Rojas ( west of the city of Buenos Aires). On September 20, 1926, an F5 tornado struck the city of Encarnación (Paraguay), killing over 300 people and making it the deadliest tornado in South America. On 21 April 1970, the town of Fray Marcos in the Department of Florida, Uruguay experienced an F4 tornado that killed 11, the strongest in the history of the nation. January 10, 1973, saw the most severe tornado in the history of South America: The
San Justo tornado, 105 km north of the city of
Santa Fe (Argentina), was rated F5, making it the strongest tornado ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, with winds exceeding 400 km/h. On April 13, 1993, in less than 24 hours in the province of
Buenos Aires was given the largest tornado outbreak in the history of South America. There were more than 300 tornadoes recorded, with intensities between F1 and F3. The most affected towns were Henderson (EF3), Urdampilleta (EF3) and Mar del Plata (EF2). In December 2000, a series of twelve tornadoes (only registered) affected the Greater Buenos Aires and the province of Buenos Aires, causing serious damage. One of them struck the town of Guernica, and, just two weeks later, in January 2001, an F3 again devastated Guernica, killing 2 people. The December 26, 2003, Tornado F3 happened in
Cordoba, with winds exceeding 300 km/h, which hit Córdoba Capital, just 6 km from the city center, in the area known as CPC Route 20, especially neighborhoods of San Roque and Villa Fabric, killing 5 people and injuring hundreds. The EF3 tornado that hit the city of
Palmital, State of
São Paulo in 2004, was one of the most destructive in the state, destroying several industrial buildings, 400 houses, killing four and wounding 25. In November 2009, four tornadoes, rated F1 and F2 reached the town of Posadas (capital of the province of
Misiones, Argentina), generating serious damage in the city. Three of the tornadoes affected the airport area, causing damage in Barrio Belén. On April 4, 2012, the Gran Buenos Aires was hit by the storm Buenos Aires, with intensities F1 and F2, which left nearly 30 dead in various locations. On February 21, 2014, in Berazategui (province of Buenos Aires), a tornado of intensity F1 caused material damage including a car was, with two occupants inside, which was elevated a few feet off the ground and flipped over asphalt, both the driver and his passenger were slightly injured. The tornado caused no fatalities. The severe weather that occurred on Tuesday 8/11 had features rarely seen in such magnitude in Argentina. In many towns of
La Pampa,
San Luis, Buenos Aires and Cordoba, intense hail stones fell up to 6 cm in diameter. On Sunday December 8, 2013, severe storms took place in the center and the coast. The most affected province was Córdoba, storms and supercells type "bow echos" also developed in Santa Fe and San Luis.
Europe During the evening of
August 3, 2008, a supercell formed over northern France. It spawned an F4 tornado in the Val de Sambre area, about 90 kilometers east of
Lille, which impacted nearby cities such as
Maubeuge and
Hautmont. This same supercell later went on to generate other tornadoes in the Netherlands and Germany. In 2009, on the night of Monday May 25, a supercell formed over
Belgium. It was described by Belgian meteorologist Frank Deboosere as "one of the worst storms in recent years" and caused much damage in Belgium – mainly in the provinces of East Flanders (around Ghent), Flemish Brabant (around Brussels) and Antwerp. The storm occurred between about 1:00 am and 4:00 am local time. 30,000 lightning flashes were recorded in 2 hours, including 10,000 cloud-to-ground strikes. Hailstones up to across were observed in some places and wind gusts over ; in Melle near Ghent a gust of was reported. Trees were uprooted and blown onto several motorways. In Lillo (east of Antwerp) a loaded goods train was blown from the rail tracks. On May 24, 2010, an intense supercell left behind a trail of destruction spanning across three different states in eastern Germany. It produced multiple strong downbursts, damaging hail and at least four tornadoes, most notably an F3 wedge tornado which struck the town of
Großenhain, killing one person. On June 28, 2012,
three supercells affected England. Two of them formed over the Midlands, producing hailstones reported to be larger than golf balls, with conglomerate stones up to 10 cm across. Burbage in Leicestershire saw some of the most severe hail. Another supercell produced a tornado near Sleaford, in Lincolnshire. On July 28, 2013, an exceptionally long-lived supercell tracked along an almost 400 km long path across parts of
Baden-Württemberg and
Bavaria in southern
Germany, before falling apart in
Czechia. The storm had a lifespan of around 7 hours and produced large hail of up to 8 cm in diameter. The city of
Reutlingen was hit the hardest, houses and cars were severely damaged, dozens of people injured. With roughly 3.6 billion euros worth of damage, it was by far the costliest thunderstorm event ever documented in Germany. On 25 July 2019 a supercell thunderstorm affected northern England and parts of Northumberland. Large hail, frequent lightning and rotation were reported by many people. On 24 September 2020 a similar event affected parts of West Yorkshire. On June 24, 2021, a supercell produced an F4 tornado in
south Moravia, Czech Republic. This tornado caused 6 deaths and left more than 200 people injured. With roughly $700 million of damage it was one of the costliest tornadoes to occur outside of the United States.
North America Tornado Alley is a region of the central United States where severe weather is common, particularly tornadoes. Supercell thunderstorms occur more frequently in tornado alley and
Dixie Alley than anywhere else in the world.
Tornado watches and
warnings are frequently necessary in the spring and summer. Most places from the
Great Plains to the
East Coast of the United States and north as far as the
Canadian Prairies, the
Great Lakes region, and the
St. Lawrence River will experience one or more supercells each year. The
1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak affected the city of
Grand Island, Nebraska on June 3, 1980. Seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city that night, killing 5 and injuring 200. The
Elie, Manitoba tornado was an
F5 that struck the town of
Elie, Manitoba on June 22, 2007. While several houses were leveled, no one was injured or killed by the tornado. The most intense tornado outbreaks on record, known as
super outbreaks, have all occurred in the United States. The
1974 Super Outbreak and
2011 Super Outbreak each spawned over 10 violent tornadoes, killed over 300, and caused billions in damage, most of which can be attributed to tornado damage. A massive
tornado outbreak on May 3, 1999 spawned an
F5 tornado in the area of
Oklahoma City that had the highest recorded winds on Earth. Another series of tornadoes, which occurred in May 2013, caused severe devastation to Oklahoma City in general. From
May 18 to May 21, a series of tornadoes hit, including
a tornado which was later rated
EF5, which traveled across parts of the Oklahoma City area, causing a severe amount of damage in a heavily populated section of
Moore. Twenty-three fatalities and 377 injuries were caused by the tornado.
Sixty-one other tornadoes were confirmed during the storm period. Later on in the same month, on the night of May 31, 2013, another eight deaths were confirmed from what became the
widest tornado on record which hit El Reno, Oklahoma, one of
a series of tornadoes and
funnel clouds which hit nearby areas. In
Mexico, the tallest non-tropical thunderstorm on record occurred as a high-topped supercell near
Nueva Rosita,
Coahuila on May 24, 2016. This storm was recorded at a height of and produced lightning as far away as from the center.
South Africa South Africa witnesses several supercell thunderstorms each year with the inclusion of isolated tornadoes. On most occasions these tornadoes occur in open farmlands and rarely cause damage to property, as such many of the tornadoes which do occur in South Africa are not reported. The majority of supercells develop in the central, northern, and north eastern parts of the country. The Free State, Gauteng, and Kwazulu Natal are typically the provinces where these storms are most commonly experienced, though supercell activity is not limited to these provinces. On occasion, hail reaches sizes in excess of
golf balls, and tornadoes, though rare, also occur. On 6 May 2009, a well-defined hook echo was noticed on local South African radars, along with satellite imagery this supported the presence of a strong supercell storm. Reports from the area indicated heavy rains, winds and large hail. On October 2, 2011, two devastating tornadoes tore through two separate parts of South Africa on the same day, hours apart from each other. The first, classified as an EF2 hit Meqheleng, the informal settlement outside Ficksburg, Free State which devastated shacks and homes, uprooted trees, and killed one small child. The second, which hit the informal settlement of Duduza, Nigel in the Gauteng province, also classified as EF2 hit hours apart from the one that struck Ficksburg. This tornado completely devastated parts of the informal settlement and killed two children, destroying shacks and RDP homes. ==Gallery==