Brighton tornado
Encyclopedia
The Brighton tornado events were the strongest storm recorded in Melbourne
to date. The tornado
es occurred on the afternoon of 2nd of February 1918, with prevailing north-westerly winds and hot sultry weather (typical conditions for Melbourne thunderstorm
s). After a severe storm formed and moved off Port Phillip
, two tornadoes struck Brighton
simultaneously. Five minutes later, a third tornado struck. The tornadoes then tracked east over open fields.
Damage retrospectively rated F3 on the Fujita scale
was observed in places. Two people were killed and many more injured.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to date. The tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es occurred on the afternoon of 2nd of February 1918, with prevailing north-westerly winds and hot sultry weather (typical conditions for Melbourne thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s). After a severe storm formed and moved off Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
, two tornadoes struck Brighton
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
simultaneously. Five minutes later, a third tornado struck. The tornadoes then tracked east over open fields.
Damage retrospectively rated F3 on the Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
was observed in places. Two people were killed and many more injured.
See also
- Extreme weather events in MelbourneExtreme weather events in Melbournethumb|right|300px|A church destroyed by the 1918 Brighton tornadoExtreme weather events in Melbourne, Australia have occurred on multiple occasions...
- List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks