Satellite tornado


A satellite tornado is a tornado that revolves around a larger, primary tornado and interacts with the same mesocyclone. Satellite tornadoes occur apart from the primary tornado and are not considered subvortices; the primary tornado and satellite tornadoes are considered to be separate tornadoes. The cause of satellite tornadoes is not known. Such tornadoes are more often anticyclonic than are typical tornadoes and these pairs may be referred to as tornado couplets. Satellite tornadoes commonly occur in association with very powerful, large, and destructive tornadoes, indicative also of the strength and severity of the parent supercell thunderstorm.
Satellite tornadoes are relatively uncommon. When a satellite tornado does occur, there is often more than one orbiting satellite spawned during the life cycle of the tornado or with successive primary tornadoes spawned by the parent supercell. On tornado outbreak days, if satellite tornadoes occur with one supercell, there is an elevated probability of their occurrence with other supercells.
Satellite tornadoes tend to orbit their parent cyclonically, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, and will generally form near the edge of a supercell's mesocyclone, and gradually travel inward to the parent tornado. Satellite tornadoes may merge into their companion tornado although the appearance of this occurring is often an illusion caused when an orbiting tornado revolves around the backside of a primary tornado obscuring view of the satellite. During the March 1990 Central United States tornado outbreak, one member of a tornado family constricted and became a satellite tornado of the next tornado of the family before merging into the new primary tornado which soon also intensified to F5.

Examples

Some examples of tornado couplets include the Tri-State Tornado, multiple tornadoes during the 1999 [Oklahoma tornado outbreak], the 2007 Greensburg tornado, and the 2013 El Reno tornado. Satellite tornadoes are more likely to be recognized in recent decades than in the far past as eyewitness accounts as well as damage survey information are often available for later events. The advent of storm chasing, in particular, boosts the likelihood that satellite tornadoes are noticed visually and/or on mobile radar. These tornadoes may remain over open country and thus cause less structural damage and consequently are less widely known. Such examples include near Beloit, Kansas on 15 May 1990 and during Project VORTEX near Allison, Texas on 8 June 1995, among other events.

List of confirmed satellite tornadoes

DatePrimary F#/EF#Primary locationSatellite F#/EF#Satellite locationFatalitiesEvent
May 30, 1879F4SW of Randolph, Kansas to Irving, Kansas to Dawson's Mill, NebraskaF?NW of Randolph, Kansas18
March 13, 1954F3Howard, Georgia to Roberta, Georgia to Macon, GeorgiaF1Turner Chapel, Georgia to Fickling, Georgia5 Tornadoes of 1954#March 13
May 16, 1961F1S of Mount Dora, New Mexico to NW of Clayton, New MexicoF0Mount Dora, New Mexico0Tornado outbreak sequence of May 14–June 1, 1962
June 13, 1976F5SW of Luther, Iowa to Jordan, Iowa to SW of Gilbert, IowaF2S to N of Jordan, Iowa0 Tornadoes of 1976#June 13
June 13, 1976F5SW of Luther, Iowa to Jordan, Iowa to SW of Gilbert, IowaF3NE of Jordan, Iowa0 Tornadoes of 1976#June 13
June 13, 1976F4Lemont, Illinois to S of Downers Grove, IllinoisF1SW of Lemont, Illinois2 Tornadoes of 1976#June 13
June 13, 1976F4Lemont, Illinois to S of Downers Grove, IllinoisF0S of Lemont, Illinois2 Tornadoes of 1976#June 13
March 13, 1990F5Castleton, Kansas to Hesston, KansasF5Goessel, Kansas to NE of Hillsboro, Kansas2March 1990 Central United States tornado outbreak
March 1, 1997F2S of College Station, ArkansasF2S of College Station, Arkansas0March 1997 tornado outbreak
May 3, 1999F5SSW of Amber, Oklahoma to Moore, Oklahoma to W of Midwest City, OklahomaF0N of Newcastle, Oklahoma36 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado
April 20, 2004F2N of Utica, Illinois to Ottawa, IllinoisF0E of Utica, Illinois0Tornado outbreak of April 20, 2004
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, Kansas----
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0E of Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0Near Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0Near Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF1Near Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF1Near Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0NE of Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0N of Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0E of Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF1E of Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 4, 2007EF5Greensburg, KansasEF0E of Greensburg, Kansas11 2007 Greensburg tornado
May 23, 2008EF2N of Laird, KansasEF2SE of Arnold, Kansas0Tornado outbreak sequence of May 22–31, 2008
May 10, 2010EF3SW of Wakita, Oklahoma to E of Hunnewell, KansasEF0NW of Medford, Oklahoma0 Tornado outbreak of May 10–13, 2010
June 17, 2010EF4E of Conger, Minnesota to W of Albert Lea, MinnesotaEF1Armstrong, Minnesota1 2010 Conger–Albert Lea tornado
April 9, 2011EF3W of Nemaha, Iowa to N of Ware, IowaEF2SE of Newell, Iowa0Tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011
April 9, 2011EF3W of Nemaha, Iowa to N of Ware, IowaEF4W of Pocahontas, Iowa0Tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011
April 9, 2011EF3W of Nemaha, Iowa to N of Ware, IowaEF1NE of Varina, Iowa0Tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011
April 9, 2011EF3W of Nemaha, Iowa to N of Ware, IowaEF1NE of Varina, Iowa0Tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011
April 9, 2011EF3W of Nemaha, Iowa to N of Ware, IowaEF2WSW of Pocahontas, Iowa0Tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011
May 24, 2011EF5ESE of Hinton to Piedmont to NE of Guthrie, OklahomaEF0NW of Richland, Oklahoma9 2011 El Reno–Piedmont tornado
November 7, 2011EF4SSW of Tipton, OklahomaEF0S of Tipton, Oklahoma0Tornadoes of 2011#November 7–8
May 28, 2013EF3S of Centralia, KansasEF1W of Corning, Kansas0Tornado outbreak of May 26–31, 2013
May 31, 2013EF3WSW of El Reno, Oklahoma to W of Yukon, OklahomaEF2SE of El Reno, Oklahoma8 2013 El Reno tornado
April 9, 2015EF4NNE of Franklin Grove, Illinois to NNW of Kirkland, IllinoisEF0S of Belvidere, Illinois2 2015 Rochelle–Fairdale tornado
April 27, 2016EF0ESE of Bedford, Iowa to S of Conway, IowaEF0S of Conway, Iowa0List of United States tornadoes from April to May 2016
May 9, 2016EF1ENE of Wapanucka, Oklahoma to N of Atoka, OklahomaEFUENE of Wapanucka, Oklahoma0List of United States tornadoes from April to May 2016
May 9, 2016EFUNW of Sawyer, Oklahoma to S of Spencerville, OklahomaEFUN of Sawyer, Oklahoma0List of United States tornadoes from April to May 2016
June 22, 2016EF1WNW of West Brooklyn, Illinois to NW of Compton, IllinoisEF0NE of West Brooklyn, Illinois0List of United States tornadoes from June to August 2016
June 6, 2018EF3N of Laramie, WyomingEF2N of Laramie, Wyoming0Tornadoes of 2018#June 6–8
July 19, 2018EF3Eastern Pella, IowaEF0NE of Pella, Iowa0 from June to July 2018
November 25, 2018F2Gulf of Taranto to Patù, Italy to Corsano, Italy to eastern Tricase, ItalyFUGulf of Taranto0Tornadoes of 2018#November 25 (Italy)
April 30, 2019EF2NW of Talala, OklahomaEFUW of Talala, Oklahoma0List of United States tornadoes in April 2019
September 10, 2019EF2N of Fort Laramie, Wyoming to NE of Lingle, WyomingEFUN of Fort Laramie, Wyoming to NE of Lingle, Wyoming0List of United States tornadoes from September to October 2019
March 13, 2021EF2SW of Happy, Texas to ESE of Canyon, TexasEF1N of Happy, Texas0March 2021 North American blizzard
April 27, 2021EFUN of Haswell, ColoradoEFUNNE of Haswell, Colorado0List of United States tornadoes from April to June 2021
May 19, 2021EF0NW of Medford, MinnesotaEF0NW of Medford, Minnesota0List of United States tornadoes from April to June 2021
July 13, 2021EF2NE of Beachburg, Ontario to L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet, QuebecEF1Sullivan Island, Ontario to Butternut Island, Ontario0
September 29, 2021F1Kiel, Germany (Meimersdorf District)FUKieler Förde, Germany0 Tornadoes of 2021#September 29 (Germany)
October 12, 2021EF1Clinton, Oklahoma to SSE of Custer City, OklahomaEFUNE of Clinton, Oklahoma0
December 11, 2021EF3SW of Bowling Green, Kentucky to S of Plum Springs, Kentucky to NNW of Rocky Hill, KentuckyEF2Southeastern Bowling Green, Kentucky to SE of Plum Springs, Kentucky16 2021 Bowling Green tornadoes
March 5, 2022EF3E of Derby, Iowa to E of Chariton, IowaEF0S of Chariton, Iowa1 Tornado outbreak of March 5–7, 2022
April 5, 2022EF2NNE of Bladon Springs, Alabama to W of McEntyre, AlabamaEF1NNE Coffeeville, Alabama0Tornado outbreak of April 4–7, 2022
May 4, 2022EF2W of Maud, Oklahoma to E of Little, OklahomaEF0NE of Seminole, Oklahoma to ESE of Little, Oklahoma0Tornadoes of 2022#May 4–6 (Central and Eastern United States)
December 14, 2022EF2New Iberia, LouisianaEFUSSW New Iberia, Louisiana0 Tornado outbreak of December 12–15, 2022
June 28, 2023EF0SW of KimballEFUSW of Kimball0-
April 30, 2024EF1NE of Hollister, OklahomaEF1SW of Loveland, Oklahoma0Tornadoes of 2024#April 30 – May 4 (United States)
May 25, 2024EF3NE of Celina, TexasEF1NNW of Celina, Texas to W of Weston, Texas0Tornado outbreak sequence of May 19–27, 2024
April 5, 2025EF1S of Curve, Tennessee to E of Gates, TennesseeEF0SE of Curve, Tennessee0Tornadoes of 2025
April 27, 2025EF2W of Merritt Reservoir, NebraskaEF2N of Merritt Reservoir0Tornadoes of 2025
May 19, 2025EF3E of Greensburg, KansasEFUS of Greensburg, Kansas0Tornado outbreak of May 18–20, 2025
May 19, 2025EF3Brenham, Kansas to N of Haviland, KansasEF0N of Brenham, Kansas0Tornado outbreak of May 18–20, 2025
May 19, 2025EF3N of Cullison, Kansas to NE of Iuka, KansasEFUN of Iuka, Kansas0Tornado outbreak of May 18–20, 2025