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1984 Soviet Union tornado outbreak

Tornado outbreak in Ivanovo and Yaroslavl Oblasts, RSFSR

Tornado outbreak in Ivanovo and Yaroslavl Oblasts, RSFSR

| fujita-scale = F4 The 1984 Soviet Union tornado outbreak, also known as the 1984 Ivanovo tornado outbreak, was a devastating and extremely deadly tornado outbreak that struck the Ivanovo and Yaroslavl regions north of Moscow, an area over 400,000 km2, on June 9, 1984. At least two of the eleven known tornadoes were violent events, equal to F4 or higher in intensity on the Fujita scale. It was one of only three disastrous tornado outbreaks (one of the others being the 1904 Moscow tornado) in modern Russian history, and the third-deadliest tornado outbreak in European history.

Based upon observed damages, the main tornado, an F4 in Ivanovo caused extreme damage, throwing heavy objects of 50000 kg for distances up to 200 m. Another tornado, assessed to have been at least F4, occurred at Kostroma. Severe thunderstorms also produced hail up to 1 kg in weight, among the heaviest hailstones confirmed worldwide. In all, the entire tornado outbreak killed at least 69 people (though the exact death toll is unknown) and injured 804. It was previously rated as an F5, however, recent reanalysis has lowered the rating to F4 in 2018 by the European Severe Storms Laboratory.

Meteorological synopsis

On June 8, 1984, a negatively tilted trough caused an extratropical low pressure area to form over the coast of the Socialist Republic of Romania (now non-Communist Romania). Surface moisture moved north from the Black Sea and caused nearby dew points to rise to 20 C; though at that time these were restricted to Romania and the Ukrainian SSR, dew points were higher than average elsewhere. By 1800 UTC, developing thunderstorms over the Ukrainian SSR spread overnight into the Russian SFSR. Between 00 and 12 UTC on June 9, the strengthening low pressure area moved north-northeast over the northwestern Russian SFSR before undergoing occlusion. In the meantime, a strong cold front rapidly advanced along a line extending south from the surface low, then south of Minsk in the Byelorussian SSR (now Belarus), to near Bucharest. This front separated the drier air mass to the north from the warm, moist air mass near the Black Sea, and strong wind speeds near ground level caused vertical mixing. Therefore, dew points actually dropped before the first tornadoes formed, but nevertheless several factors overcame the lower dew points to produce tornadoes. Among these were a strong upper-level jet stream, clear skies causing daytime heating and instability, strong synoptic-scale lifting leading to ascension of updrafts, and high environmental lapse rates promoting thunderstorm development. All these factors combined to produce severe weather near Moscow. The tornadoes occurred in this region because an unstable and moist air mass, supported by warm sea surface temperatures over the Black Sea, had been in place four days before the outbreak began. The unusually strong intensity of the trough in the region on June 8–9, with a 500-millibar geopotential height measured at about 2.7 standard deviations below normal, also favored an intense tornado outbreak.

Tornadoes

List of confirmed tornadoes

List of confirmed tornadoes — June 9, 1984F#LocationCountyTime (UTC)Path lengthDamage
**Soviet Union**
cat2}}**F2****Alatyr**Volga Federal Districttitle=Tornado Outbreak in Russia on June 9th, 1984publisher=Kéraunos Observatoire Français des Tornades et des Orages Violentslanguage=fryear=2008}}unknownDetails unknown
cat2}}**F2****Kanash**Volga Federal District~0900unknownDetails unknown
cat1}}**F1****Sheremetyevo International Airport**Central Federal District090910 kmTornado heavily damaged hangars at the airport and downed trees.
cat3}}"**F3**url=http://www.sevkray.ru/news/5/5014/title=Сартово: жизнь после смерчаwebsite=www.sevkray.ruaccess-date=2020-03-24archive-date=2020-03-24archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324201014/http://www.sevkray.ru/news/5/5014/url-status=live}}Central Federal District~1100100 kmdate=September 2023}}
cat2}}"**F2****Volosovo**Volosovsky District~1100{{convert10.9kmsigfig=2abbr=}}ESWD mentions that the tornado damaged roofs, chimneys and partly destroyed walls.
cat4}}**F4****S of Ivanovo to Lunyovo (SE of Kostroma)**Central Federal District1130160 km**92+ deaths** - *See section on this tornado*
cat4}}**F4****Kostroma to Lyubim**Central Federal District~123030 km*See section on this tornado*
storm}}**F0****Unknown**unknownunknownunknownESWD mentions that the outbreak produced an F0 tornado, though there is no information beyond this.
cat?}}**F?****Sormovo**Sormovsky City DistrictunknownunknownUnrated tornado produced a swath of tree damage.
cat?}}**F?****E of Sharya**Central Federal DistrictunknownunknownUnrated tornado produced a swath of tree damage.
cat?}}**F?****Unknown**unknownunknownunknownESWD mentions that the outbreak produced three F2 tornadoes, though there is no information beyond this.

Ivanovo/Lunyovo

| fujita-scale = F4

This large, long-tracked, and devastating tornado, considered one of the worst in Russian history, destroyed numerous towns and villages along its path. Rated F4 on the Fujita scale, the 1130 metres tornado killed at least 69 people and injured more than 130 others. About 1,180 homes were also damaged, destroyed or leveled by the tornado. Some estimates indicate up to 95 deaths or even more, with some sources suggesting 400 deaths in the outbreak were all related to the Ivanovo tornado.

At 1130 UTC—this powerful multiple vortex tornado touched down 15 mi south of Ivanovo. Near Ivanovo, the tornado snapped or bent pine, spruce, and birch trees about 1 – from ground level. ESWD mentions that the tornado destroyed factory areas.

Near the Volga River, the tornado ripped up trees by their roots and destroyed many small huts. The F4 tornado tracked for 99 mi—though some sources suggest only 80 km

Kostroma/Lyubim

| fujita-scale = F4

According to Russian researchers writing in the 1980s, this tornado was either the same as the Ivanovo tornado or a member of the Ivanovo tornado family; if the latter, it may indicate that the Ivanovo tornado was in fact two separate tornadoes spawned by the same thunderstorm. However, recent research indicates that the Ivanovo storm was not the same as the one that produced the Kostroma tornado. Numerous trees were thrown long distances by the tornado. A crane weighing 350 tonne was knocked over, and numerous other structures were damaged. The severity of the damage was rated F4; however, there are indications that the tornado may have attained F5 intensity.

References

References

  1. (2017-01-31). "Ивановский смерч 9 июня 1984 года: торнадо по-советски". Русская семерка.
  2. "Ивановский смерч 9 июня 1984 года: что это было".
  3. Finch, J.. (2012). "Russian tornado outbreak of 9 June 1984". Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology.
  4. (2008). "Tornado Outbreak in Russia on June 9th, 1984". Kéraunos Observatoire Français des Tornades et des Orages Violents.
  5. "Сартово: жизнь после смерча".
  6. 11:00 UTC (+/- 15 min.) - European Severe Weather Database
  7. "Tornado destroyed a village; houses badly damaged, houses destroyed; Bus damaged; Three people killed." - European Severe Weather Database
  8. "☂ Смерчи на территории СССР. Журнал «Метеорология и гидрология», №2, 1987.".
  9. Alimov, G.. (June 1984). "120 Minutes of a Tornado". Izvestia.
  10. Vasiliev, A. A.. (1985a). "Tornadoes on 9th of June 1984". Russian.
  11. (October 1987). "TORNADOES IN THE MIDLAND BELT OF RUSSIA". [[Soviet Geography]].
  12. (15 April 1986). "none". Bangladesh Observer.
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