On This Date: United Kingdom’s Costliest Tornado Strikes Birmingham, England
Tornadoes might not come to mind when you think of the United Kingdom, but they are a fairly common occurrence and one 20 years ago became the nation’s costliest on record.
The tornado struck the eastern suburbs of Birmingham, England, on July 28, 2005, damaging about 300 buildings and leaving 39 people injured in its wake. It traveled nearly seven miles and the damage path was about 100 to 300 yards wide.
About 30 to 50 tornadoes are reported in the United Kingdom annually, according to the U.K. Met Office, but most are weak. The Birmingham twister was on the stronger end of the spectrum and was classified as an EF2 (111 to 135 mph winds) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, according to a ground damage survey report by Marshall and Robinson.
The tornado’s strong intensity and track through a densely-populated area combined to result in about $54 million in damage (£40 million). Although it’s not the strongest tornado to hit the country, the damage cost is the highest on record, the Met Office says.
Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
