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2005 Birmingham tornado

The tornado seen over Moseley, taken from Stratford Road
Meteorological history
Date	July 28, 2005
Formed	14:37 BST (UTC+01:00)
Duration	20 minutes
IF3 tornado
on the International Fujita scale
Highest winds	144–216 mph (232–348 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities	0
Injuries	39
Damage	£40 million (2005)
Areas affected	Birmingham, United Kingdom

The 2005 Birmingham tornado remains the costliest tornado recorded in Great Britain on record, occurring on 28 July 2005 in the Southern and Eastern suburbs of Birmingham. It formed on a day when thunderstorms were expected to develop across the Midlands and eastern England. The tornado touched down at approximately 14:37 BST in the King’s Heath area and moved north-northeasterly, affecting King's Heath, Moseley, Sparkhill, Balsall Heath, Saltley and Erdington as it carved a roughly 7 mi (11 km) long path through the city. Several organizations have rated this tornado with various degrees of intensity; most recently the European Severe Storms Laboratory rated the tornado IF3 on the International Fujita scale in December 2024.

Background

While England has more reported tornadoes, relative to its land area, than any other country, the vast majority are weak. According to the Met Office, around 30 tornadoes hit the UK every year, though most are small and dissipate without causing significant damage.

Several tornadoes have struck the city of Birmingham. A T6/F3 tornado struck the city in 1931, killing one woman and severely damaging hundreds of houses. On 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak, two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county.

Effects and damage

At around 2:37PM, the tornado began in Howard Road, Kings Heath. Crossing the High Street, several buildings sustained roof damage, including a roof torn off and thrown across the road. A woman was taken to hospital after being struck by flying debris.

Continuing northeastward into Wake Green, the tornado began causing more significant damage to trees and homes. Several streets including Blenheim Rd were completely blocked by fallen trees.

Reaching Balsall Heath, several shops had their windows blown out and lost portions of their roofs. Several rows of terraced homes along Birchwood Road and Alder Road in Balsall Heath had their roofs torn off, and top floor walls torn down. Cars were rolled several meters (yards) down driveways. Trees were flattened in Balsall Heath park.

Continuing northwards across Stratford Road, Ladypool Primary School was extensively damaged and lost its distinctive Martin & Chamberlain tower. The adjacent St Agatha's Church also suffered some damage. Christ Church (consecrated in 1867), on the corner of Dolobran Road and Grantham Road in Sparkbrook, was also damaged and has now been demolished.

Farm Park, Sparkhill suffers severe damage. The tornado then reaches the A45 carriageway, falling briefly to T3 intensity, it approaches Coventry Road where it strikes a Wedding Hall with T4 intensity.

Following this, the tornado suddenly weakens to a force T1-2 as it continues northwards past St Andrew’s Stadium. A brick wall is blown down at Saltley Viaduct, and minor tree damage is noted along Heartlands Parkway at the intersection with Cuckoo Road.

The tornado crosses the M6 Motorway just east of the Gravelly Hill interchange. TV Aerial damage is found in The Oval, Erdington, as well as minor roof damage. The final instance of damage came from Erdington Abbey, where trees suffered minor branch damage.

There were no fatalities, although there were approximately 39 injuries, three of which were reported to be serious. The tornado uprooted an estimated 1,100 trees, caused serious damage to homes, businesses, schools and churches. The tornado is the costliest on record in the UK, having caused £40 million of damage, equivalent to £75 million in 2023.

Rating

In August 2006, Timothy P. Marshall and Stuart Robinson with the Haag Engineering Co, rated the tornado EF2 on a draft version of the-then unpublished Enhanced Fujita scale, marking one of the first tornadoes to receiving an EF-scale rating. In July 2015, the tornado was rated T5–6 on the TORRO scale by the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation based on the United Kingdom. The European Severe Storms Laboratory rated the tornado F2, on the Fujita scale and T4 on the TORRO scale. However, in December 2024, this rating was rerated and upgraded to IF3 on the new International Fujita scale.

Second tornado in October

Three months later, on October 12 2005, an IF2 tornado caused damage to roofs in Dovey Road, Moseley, less than a mile from the path of the July 28 tornado.

See also

• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• List of European tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• Climate of the United Kingdom
• 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak

References

1. "Tornado". Met Office. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
2. "BIRMINGHAM STRUCK BY A TORNADO! - British Pathe". 1931. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
3. ^ "European Severe Weather Database".
4. Indymedia UK - After the tornado: "market forces" force demolition of Sparkbrook Church
5. Ecclesiastical Law Society Archived 2006-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
6. Kirk, Peter (September 2006). "A mammoth task: The site investigation after the 2005 Birmingham Tornado" (PDF). International Journal of Meteorology. 31 (311): 255–260.
7. "Wild Weather: Birmingham tornado". 14 September 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
8. Kantamaneni, Komali; Phillips, Mike; Jenkins, Rhian; Oakley, Judith; Ibeabuchi, Obinna (2015). "Could the UK Economy Be Impacted by an Increase in Tornado Occurrence: A Consequence of Climate Change in the 21st Century". International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses. 15 (2): 22–39. doi:10.18848/1835-7156/CGP/v07i02/37230. ISSN 1835-7156.
9. Marshall, Timothy P.; Robinson, Stuart. "Birmingham U.K. Tornado: 28 July 2005" (PDF). American Meteorological Society. Haag Engineering Co. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
10. "Ten years ago this month on 28th July 2005 shortly after 1:30pm a tornado struck Birmingham causing extensive damage" (PDF). Tornado and Storm Research Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
11. Staff of the European Severe Storms Laboratory (2024). "European Severe Weather Database" (Interactive map and database). ESWD. European Severe Storms Laboratory. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
12. "Second tornado strikes Birmingham". 13 October 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

External links

• BBC Birmingham Site
• BBC Birmingham - Pictures by the public
• Birmingham City Council tornado page
• The Balti Triangle Back in Business (photos) Archived 25 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
• Forward - Birmingham City Council newspaper

ITN News report on the Birmingham tornado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPtdu6zLh8E

• History of Birmingham, West Midlands
• Tornadoes in the United Kingdom
• Tornadoes of 2005
• 2005 in England
• Weather events in England
• 2000s in Birmingham, West Midlands
• Disasters in the West Midlands (county)
• July 2005 events in the United Kingdom