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	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.<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Tornado \|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/tornadoes \|access-date=2023-07-17 \|website=[[Met Office]] \|language=en}}</ref>		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.<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Tornado \|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/tornadoes \|access-date=2023-07-17 \|website=[[Met Office]] \|language=en}}</ref>

	Several tornadoes have struck the city of Birmingham. An [[1931 Birmingham tornado\|F3 tornado]] struck the city in 1931, killing one woman and severely damaging hundreds of houses.<ref name="pathe">{{cite web \|date=1931 \|title=Birmingham Struck By A Tornado! \|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/41309/ \|url-status=live \|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118160223/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=5692 \|archive-date=18 January 2013 \|access-date=6 May 2025 \|website=[[Pathé News\|British Pathé]]}}</ref> On 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak\|nationwide tornado outbreak]], three tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in [[Erdington]], [[Kings Heath]], and [[Selly Oak]] – with three other tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider [[West Midlands (county)\|West Midlands]] county. <ref name=":02">{{Cite journal \|last=Meaden \|first=G. Terence \|author-link=Terence Meaden \|last2=Chatfield \|first2=Christopher R. \|date=June 2009 \|title=Tornadoes in Birmingham, England, 1931 and 1946 to 2005 \|url=http://www.ijmet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/339.pdf \|journal=[[International Journal of Meteorology]] \|volume=34 \|issue=339 \|pages=155–161}}</ref> Notable tornadoes also struck the city in 1946, 1968, and 1999<ref>{{Cite web \|title=The 2005 Birmingham Tornado: Britain’s Costliest Tornado on Record {{!}} Unihousing \|url=https://unihousing.co/news/article/the-2005-birmingham-tornado-britains-costliest-tornado-on-record \|access-date=2025-06-19 \|website=unihousing.co}}</ref>.		Several tornadoes have struck the city of Birmingham. An [[1931 Birmingham tornado\|F3 tornado]] struck the city in 1931, killing one woman and severely damaging hundreds of houses.<ref name="pathe">{{cite web \|date=1931 \|title=Birmingham Struck By A Tornado! \|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/41309/ \|url-status=live \|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118160223/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=5692 \|archive-date=18 January 2013 \|access-date=6 May 2025 \|website=[[Pathé News\|British Pathé]]}}</ref> On 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak\|nationwide tornado outbreak]], three tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in [[Erdington]], [[Kings Heath]], and [[Selly Oak]] – with three other tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider [[West Midlands (county)\|West Midlands]] county. <ref name=":02">{{Cite journal \|last=Meaden \|first=G. Terence \|author-link=Terence Meaden \|last2=Chatfield \|first2=Christopher R. \|date=June 2009 \|title=Tornadoes in Birmingham, England, 1931 and 1946 to 2005 \|url=http://www.ijmet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/339.pdf \|journal=[[International Journal of Meteorology]] \|volume=34 \|issue=339 \|pages=155–161}}</ref> Notable tornadoes also struck the city in 1946, 1968, and 1999.

	'''Meteorological synopsis'''		'''Meteorological synopsis'''

82.42.92.222: Added a news article which provides more information.

2025-06-19T13:05:29Z

Added a news article which provides more information.

New page

{{Short description|Tornado in the United Kingdom in 2005}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{About|the 2005 Birmingham tornado||Birmingham tornado}}{{Infobox weather event
| image = Birmingham_tornado,_2005.jpeg
| caption = The tornado seen over Moseley, taken from Stratford Road
| date = July 28, 2005
| formed = 14:37 [[British Summer Time|BST]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
| duration = 20 minutes
}}{{Infobox weather event/Tornado
| winds = {{cvt|144-216|mph|kph|abbr=on}}
| fujita-scale = IF3
| fujita-ref = https://eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| casualties =
| deaths = 0
| injuries = 39
| damage = 40000000
| damage-currency = GBP
| damage-suffix = {{sp}}(2005)
| affected = [[Birmingham]], [[United Kingdom]]
| season = [[tornadoes of 2005]]
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer}}
The '''2005 Birmingham tornado''' was an IF3 [[tornadoes|tornado]] which became the costliest tornado ever recorded in [[Great Britain]]. The tornado occurred in the Southern and Eastern suburbs of [[Birmingham]] on July 28, 2005. 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 [[British Summer Time|BST]] in the King’s Heath area and moved north-northeasterly, affecting [[Kings Heath]], [[Moseley]], [[Sparkhill]], [[Balsall Heath]], [[Saltley]] and [[Erdington]] as it carved a roughly {{cvt|7|mi}} long path through the city. [[2005 Birmingham tornado#Rating|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==
'''Previous tornadoes'''

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tornado |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/tornadoes |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=[[Met Office]] |language=en}}</ref>

Several tornadoes have struck the city of Birmingham. An [[1931 Birmingham tornado|F3 tornado]] struck the city in 1931, killing one woman and severely damaging hundreds of houses.<ref name="pathe">{{cite web |date=1931 |title=Birmingham Struck By A Tornado! |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/41309/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118160223/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=5692 |archive-date=18 January 2013 |access-date=6 May 2025 |website=[[Pathé News|British Pathé]]}}</ref> On 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak|nationwide tornado outbreak]], three tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in [[Erdington]], [[Kings Heath]], and [[Selly Oak]] – with three other tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]] county. <ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Meaden |first=G. Terence |author-link=Terence Meaden |last2=Chatfield |first2=Christopher R. |date=June 2009 |title=Tornadoes in Birmingham, England, 1931 and 1946 to 2005 |url=http://www.ijmet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/339.pdf |journal=[[International Journal of Meteorology]] |volume=34 |issue=339 |pages=155–161}}</ref> Notable tornadoes also struck the city in 1946, 1968, and 1999<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2005 Birmingham Tornado: Britain’s Costliest Tornado on Record {{!}} Unihousing |url=https://unihousing.co/news/article/the-2005-birmingham-tornado-britains-costliest-tornado-on-record |access-date=2025-06-19 |website=unihousing.co}}</ref>.

'''Meteorological synopsis'''

On the morning of July 28, a shallow depression was located southwest of [[Cornwall]], with a slow-moving [[warm front]] extending across the Midlands and a [[cold front]] advancing from the southwest. Early cloud cover gave way to breaks in the afternoon, allowing surface heating to destabilize the atmosphere. This heating, combined with an [[elevated mixed layer]] of dry air advected from Spain, created conditions favorable for intense convection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thursday 28 July 2005 (Birmingham Tornado) |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/research/library-and-archive/library/publications/historical-weather-factsheets/birminghamtornado28july2005.pdf |access-date=29 Mar 2025 |website=[[Met Office]]}}</ref>

Key to the tornado formation was the development of a triple point, where the synoptic cold front intersected an insolation-enhanced warm front, a boundary strengthened by solar heating. This intersection enhanced low-level convergence and vorticity, providing the necessary lift for thunderstorm development. The environment featured moderate instability (1000–1600 J/kg of [[Convective available potential energy|CAPE]]) and extreme wind shear, particularly in the lowest 1–3 km of the atmosphere, where directional shear promoted rotating updrafts.

Initial storm development began by 13:45 GMT, and the storms exhibited [[Supercell|supercellular]] characteristics, with one near [[Peterborough]] splitting into distinct left and right-moving cells. The Birmingham cell subsequently developed at around 13:45 GMT.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Knightley |first=Paul |date=September 2006 |title=Tornadogenesis across England on July 28, 2005 |url=http://www.ijmet.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/311.pdf |journal=[[International Journal of Meteorology]] |volume=31 |issue=311 |pages=243–250}}</ref>

==Effects and damage==
[[File:Birmingham_tornado_2005_damage.jpg|thumb|left|Damage caused by the tornado in [[Moseley]]]]
At 2:29 PM BST, a funnel cloud was photographed from the Hopwood Park Service area on the M42 motorway, 8.5 miles south of Birmingham. TORRO concluded this to be a separate, T2 tornado. By around 2:37PM, the main tornado began in Howard Road, Kings Heath. Initially crossing the High Street, the tornado inflicted roof damage to several buildings, 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 and Moseley, 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, the tornado attained peak IF3 intensity: 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 several sustained exterior wall damage to the upper floors. Cars were rolled several metres down driveways, and trees were flattened in Balsall Heath park.

Continuing northwards across Stratford Road, [[Ladypool Junior & Infant School|Ladypool Primary School]] was extensively damaged and lost its distinctive [[Martin & Chamberlain]] tower. The adjacent [[St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook|St Agatha's Church]] also suffered some damage. [[Christ Church, Sparkbrook|Christ Church]] (consecrated in 1867), on the corner of Dolobran Road and Grantham Road in Sparkbrook, was also damaged and has now been demolished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Songs of Raze |date=2005-10-10 |title=After the tornado: ‘market forces’ force demolition of Sparkbrook Church |url=https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/325323.html |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=[[Indymedia|Indymedia UK]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Consistory Court Cases 2005 |url=https://ecclawsoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/recent_judgments_2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211204446/http://ecclawsoc.org.uk/documents/recent_judgments_2005.pdf |archive-date=2006-12-11 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=[[Ecclesiastical Law Society]] |page=11}}</ref>

Farm Park, Sparkhill suffered severe damage, shortly before the approached Coventry Road where it significantly damaged a Wedding Hall and several homes.

At this point, the tornado was weakening as it continued northwards past [[St Andrew's (stadium)|St Andrew’s Stadium]]. A brick wall was blown down at Saltley Viaduct, and minor tree damage was noted along Heartlands Parkway at the intersection with Cuckoo Road.

The tornado crossed 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Kirk |first=Peter |date=September 2006 |title=A mammoth task: The site investigation after the 2005 Birmingham Tornado |url=http://www.ijmet.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/311.pdf |journal=International Journal of Meteorology |volume=31 |issue=311 |pages=255–260}}</ref>

===Aftermath===

Immediately following the tornado, more than 50 ambulance, and 10 fire crews were deployed to the scene, along with sniffer dogs, and West Midlands Fire Service declared a major incident. Over a dozen people were taken to hospital for treatment, 39 were injured, several severely.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Alan |last2=Bird |first2=Steve |date=July 29, 2005 |title=Tornado's ten-minute rampage |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/tornados-ten-minute-rampage-pf5z8xpcxwj |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref> Then-Birmingham council leader, Paul Tillesley, remarked that it was a “miracle” that no fatalities occurred.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sturcke |first=James |date=July 29, 2005 |title=Clear-up begins after Birmingham tornado |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/jul/29/weather.climatechange1 |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Hundreds of residents were evacuated from significantly damaged areas, particularly Balsall Heath, while emergency services searched over 1000 properties. Overall, more than 500 buildings were damaged, including 115 businesses, Ladypool Primary School, churches, and hundreds of houses- several were subsequently marked for demolition.<ref name=":1" />

Birmingham City Council provided emergency accommodation for over 160 people following the tornado, and granted a £1 million recovery fund. The tornado is the costliest on record in the UK, having caused £40 million of damage, equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK|40|2005|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kantamaneni |first1=Komali |last2=Phillips |first2=Mike |last3=Jenkins |first3=Rhian |last4=Oakley |first4=Judith |last5=Ibeabuchi |first5=Obinna |date=2015 |title=Could the UK Economy Be Impacted by an Increase in Tornado Occurrence: A Consequence of Climate Change in the 21st Century |url=https://pure.solent.ac.uk/en/publications/could-the-uk-economy-be-impacted-by-an-increase-in-tornado-occurr |journal=International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=22–39 |doi=10.18848/1835-7156/CGP/v07i02/37230 |issn=1835-7156|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===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 receive an EF-scale rating.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Marshall |first1=Timothy P. |author1-link=Timothy P. Marshall |last2=Robinson |first2=Stuart |date=November 2006 |title=Birmingham U.K. Tornado: 28 July 2005 |url=https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/115203.pdf |conference=23rd Conference on Severe Local Storms |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |access-date=20 December 2024}}</ref> In July 2015, the tornado was rated T5–6 on the [[TORRO scale]] by the [[TORRO|Tornado and Storm Research Organisation]] based on the United Kingdom.<ref name="TORRO">{{cite web |date=July 2015 |title=Birmingham Tornado 10 Year Anniversary |url=https://www.torro.org.uk/pdf/Birmingham_Tornado_10_Year_Anniversary.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706052945/http://www.torro.org.uk/Birmingham%20Tornado%2010%20Year%20Anniversary.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2016 |access-date=6 May 2025 |website=[[TORRO|Tornado and Storm Research Organization]]}}</ref> 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 amended to IF3 on the new [[International Fujita scale]].<ref name="ESWD">{{cite web |author1=Staff of the [[European Severe Storms Laboratory]] |title=European Severe Weather Database |url=https://eswd.eu/ |website=ESWD |publisher=[[European Severe Storms Laboratory]] |format=[[Map|Interactive map]] and [[database]] |date=2024 |access-date=2024-01-04 |archive-date=2022-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172917/https://eswd.eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Second tornado in October===
Three months later, on 12 October 2005, an IF2 tornado caused damage to roofs in Dovey Road, [[Moseley]], less than a mile from the path of the 28 July tornado.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-10-12 |title=Second tornado strikes Birmingham |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4336208.stm |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="ESWD" />

==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==
<references/>

==External links ==
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2005/07/28/tornado_feature.shtml BBC Birmingham Site]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/image_galleries/tornado_gallery_Copy.shtml BBC Birmingham - Pictures by the public]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514001949/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/tornado Birmingham City Council tornado page]
*[http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media/Tornado%20Exhibition%20G5.pdf?MEDIA_ID=133502&FILENAME=Tornado%20Exhibition%20G5.pdf The Balti Triangle Back in Business (photos)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725033258/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media/Tornado%20Exhibition%20G5.pdf?MEDIA_ID=133502&FILENAME=Tornado%20Exhibition%20G5.pdf |date=25 July 2006 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060725033141/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media/tornado.pdf?MEDIA_ID=103940&FILENAME=tornado.pdf Forward - Birmingham City Council newspaper]
ITN News report on the Birmingham tornado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPtdu6zLh8E

{{Heat waves in the United Kingdom}}
{{2005 tornado outbreaks}}

[[Category:History of Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Tornadoes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Tornadoes of 2005|Birmingham]]
[[Category:2005 in England|Birmingham Tornado, 2005]]
[[Category:Weather events in England]]
[[Category:2000s in Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Disasters in the West Midlands (county)]]
[[Category:July 2005 in the United Kingdom|Birmingham Tornado]]
[[Category:F3, EF3 and IF3 tornadoes]]

2005 Birmingham tornado - Revision history

imported>PicturesOfTrickery: Undid revision 1296351025 by 82.42.92.222 (talk) Source seems unreliable- reads too similarly to this Wikipedia article

82.42.92.222: Added a news article which provides more information.