Tornadoes are one of the deadliest and extreme weather phenomenons. They are hard to predict, they can last between minutes and hours, and the level of destruction can reach unimaginable levels. For this reason, it is important to understand where and when the tornadoes have been formed.
We know this well in Chile. The massive tornado outbreak of May 2019, with confirmed 7 tornadoes, was a huge warning for meteorologist and decision maker in the country about the real threat of this meteorological phenomenons. Until that date, many scientists were skeptic about the tornado threat in our country. However, the evidence was always there.
As described by Alonso de Ovalle in one of the first chronicles of colonial life in Chile (de Ovalle 1703), on 14 May 1633, the Spanish fortress town of Carelmapu was almost completely destroyed by a tornado. The description is so vivid that it even contains information about the size of hail “without exaggeration … thicker than larger musket balls,” which translates to about 2–4-cm diameter. A better-known historical tornado crossed Concepción on 27 May 1934, causing considerable damage along a northwest–southeast trajectory. This storm was covered by the New York Times, indicating damage worth 1 million dollars at the time (New York Times, 29 May 1934).
Vicencio et al. (2021) – https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0218.1
The Concepción Tornado on May 27, 1934, killed 27 people and injured more than 500. And like a bad weather joke, 86 years later and almost in the same date (May 30), the city of Concepción was hit once again by one of the strongest tornadoes reported in our country, this time with 1 person dead and 23 injures.
Thanks to the work of the Armada de Chile and the Chilean Weather Service, we realized that the location and date of both Concepción tornadoes are not just a simple coincidence. They fit perfectly with a potential “Tornado Season” in Chile, spanning between April and June, concentrating >60% of the events. May a June seems to be the peak months, matching with the end of the autumn and the beginning of the winter (see the next figure). Moreover, the Ñuble-Biobio region is one of the zones with more reports, accounting about 36% of the total amount of tornadoes.
All this information has been compiled by the Chilean Weather Service (DMC), thanks to the previous database from La Armada de Chile, and the use and monitoring of social media (such as Twitter, Facebook), direct contact with Regional Emergency Offices and newspapers/radio/television.
In addition, the Chilean tornadoes are also present in the Tornado Archive, a Worldwide project to collect information about the location, intensity, damage, and path of these phenomenons in the Globe.
Tornado Archive is a dedicated to worldwide tornado history, climatology, “archeology” and media. We are a group of meteorologists, storm chasers, and weather enthusiasts who intend to preserve data, educate, and provide a hop off point for your weather related research and much much more.
About Tornado Archive – https://tornadoarchive.com/home/about/
You can visit the website right now. However, the database including the Chilean tornadoes will be soon released on the official site. In the next picture, you can see a preliminary view of how the location of our tornadoes look in comparison with the rest of the planet. For example, in South América, we share the occurrence of tornadoes with Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Southern Brasil. For now, the information related with intensity and casualties of the tornadoes are not available.
Finally, after decades of skepticism, Chile made the list and entry to the global database of tornadoes. In the next years, this information will be updated to include new tornadoes occurring right now, as well from the past.
José Vicencio [Meteorologist] 