Draft:2026 Kushva tornado
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| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 22, 2026, 6:40pm Yekaterinburg Time (UTC+5) |
| Dissipated | June 22, 2026, 7:40pm Yekaterinburg Time (UTC+5) |
| Duration | 10-15 minutes |
| IF3 tornado | |
| on the International Fujita scale | |
| Max width | 0.54 mi (950 yd; 870 m) |
| Path length | 19.0 mi (30.6 km) |
| Highest winds |
|
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 21 |
| Areas affected | Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia |
Part of the European tornadoes of 2026 | |
On June 22, 2026, a large and intense tornado struck Kushva, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia during evening hours. The European Severe Storm Laboratory investigated the 19 mile long tornado path and 2 days later rated it an IF3. On August 11, 2026, local Russian surveyors observed the damages and rated it an F4 on the Fujita scale with maximum winds of 185-240mph.[1]
Meteorological summary
[edit]For the time being, no weather service around Kushva had warned of a thunderstorm approaching, as there was no available radar in the area, until a local weather station by the name of the Ural Hydrometeorological Center issued a local warning for severe thunderstorms.[2]
Tornado summary
[edit]At around 6:40pm local time, the tornado formed southwest of Kushva moving north/northeast towards the city, crossing 2.5km of land before reaching Kushva.[3]
As it enters Kushva, it rips off roofs and even severely damages them, destroys fences, uproots and snaps trees, knocks down concrete utility poles, all at IF2.5 and some at IF3 intensity, destroys outbuildings at IF3 intensity, and one house had severe damage to its 2nd floor cinder block structure at IF2.5 intensity. Most vegetation around the path were damaged at IF1 intensity.[4] 99 homes were reported damaged, while 32 were completely destroyed.
No reports state the effect to the people of Kushva, but 1 person was unreported left homeless for the time being after 18 private houses of the 32 houses were destroyed completely. 21 people were left injured after the tornado. A temporary accommodation center was opened up with the maximum capacity of the center being 50 people.[5]
Response and aftermath
[edit]Response operations
[edit]As soon as the supercell moved away, emergency services in Kushva were dispatched immediately after reports of roof damage and fallen trees reached appropriate services. Russian EMERCOM (MChS) deployed personnel and equipment in Kushva. By a few days, there were 306 people including 70 MChS personnel involved with the tornado response. Over 34 thousand people lost electricity for the day.[6]
16 people had immediate medical attention after the tornado destroyed their homes, including one minor. 15 were treated as outpatients, and one patient was hospitalized in a different location near Kushva. Later on the injury count increased to 21, with a lot of them being during recovery efforts after the tornado.
Aftermath
[edit]
After the tornado, 204 residential buildings were affected, with 18 houses destroyed and 168 damaged, 39 apartment buildings were partially damaged, 2 administrative buildings were damaged, 2 socially significant buildings (a school and a kindergarten) were damaged, and one industrial building was damaged. The tornado also knocked over trees and blew debris into the Kushva River, with multiple blockages blocking out the river, causing floods.[7]
The city faced a major electrical outage, with residents as far as Baranchinsky, Sverdlovsk being affected by the tornado, with power coming back until June 24th. Emergency and recovery teams were deployed to remove fallen trees, restore electrical power, inspect damaged buildings, and help residents that were affected. Schools had to be relocated after the tornado, and a temporary accommodation center was opened with a maximum capacity of 50 people, but only 1 adult was reported staying there.[8]
Criticism over rating
[edit]People argue over its rating of IF3 on the International Fujita scale and say that because surveyors personally rated the tornado an F4 on the Fujita scale, it's automatically an IF4, which it isn't. ESSL surveyors in Kushva personally made it very clear that: "Because of uncertain damage, sturdiness D was not chosen. (otherwise BSD/2 would result in IF4)" Although this is something you should take in consideration of the fact that this tornado is very likely a high end IF3, and if anything the closest you can ever get to an IF4, people still assume that its an IF4 because of local Russian surveyors in the area rating it an F4, with a 186-240mph mark, which is still in the F3 category, and only reaches the F4 category with the 240mph mark.[9]
Other tornadoes and severe weather
[edit]The main supercell behind the Kushva tornado formed an IF1.5 tornado 1h and 40 mins before. Just south of Kushva in the forests below, a tornado formed. It damaged the trees in the forest with no additional information available. It was rated IF1.5 by the European Severe Storms Laboratory a few days after adding the main tornado.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "eswd.eu". eswd.eu.
- ↑ "Severe thunderstorm alert for Kushva issued before intense tornado". Ural Hydrometeorological Center.
- ↑ "IF3 tornado in Kushva". Ural.KP.
- ↑ "Facebook".
- ↑ "Emergency operation headquarters and accomodation center opened after intense tornado". URA News.
- ↑ "MChS deployed in Kushva after tornado". MChS gov.
- ↑ "Flooding occurred in the city of Kushva after a tornado". ASI org.
- ↑ "Rare tornado hits city in Russia's Ural mountains". The Moscow Times. 2026-06-23.
- ↑ "Reddit". www.reddit.com.