Bulahdelah tornado

Bulahdelah Tornado
Tornado
Date 1 January 1970
Areas affected Bulahdelah

The Bulahdelah Tornado was an intense tornado which occurred near the town of Bulahdelah (100 kilometres (62.1 mi) north-northeast of Newcastle), New South Wales on 1 January 1970, and is thought to be the most destructive tornado ever documented in Australia.[1] It is thought to be least F4 or F5 on the Fujita scale however no official rating has been made public.[2][3]

The tornado left a damage path 22 kilometres (14 mi) long and 1–1.6 km (0.6–1 mi) wide through the Bulahdelah State Forest.[1] It is estimated that the tornado destroyed over one million trees.[1] A caravan was destroyed and a 2 ton (2,000 kg) tractor was lifted into the air, landing upside down. The tornado was reported by witnesses as a swirling black cloud surrounded by flying debris, and producing a thunderous roaring sound.[4] The weather system that produced the tornado was a classic set-up for violent tornadoes, something somewhat rarely seen outside of the United States, Canada, Bangladesh, and adjacent areas of India.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Thunderstorms in NSW & the ACT". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  2. ↑ "Tornadoes of Australia and New Zealand". The Weather Doctor. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "23 September 2003: Australian thunderstorm climatology". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  4. ↑ Shanahan, B (April 1985). "Bulahdelah Tornado Report". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 10 February 2012.

Coordinates: 32°22′59″S 152°11′43″E / 32.38306°S 152.19528°E