This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1989, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
Synopsis
1989 was an average year in terms of numbers of tornadoes and fatalities. May and June both saw over 200 tornadoes and after the usual summer lull, a significant November outbreak led to the devastating Huntsville, Alabama F4 tornado. There were three tornadoes in Nevada including an F0 on June 7 and two F1 tornadoes on September 17 and October 14, which is an unusually high number for the state.
There were 14 tornadoes confirmed in the US in January.
January 7
An F4 tornado in Illinois/Indiana injured 55, but killed no one.
February
There were 18 tornadoes confirmed in the US in February.
March
There were 43 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March.
April
There were 82 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April.
April 3
An F3 tornado hit Fort Branch, Indiana. Although there were no fatalities, eight people were injured and damage was estimated between 5 and 50 million dollars.
An extremely destructive and deadly tornado struck the Manikganj District in central Bangladesh. The tornado affected the cities of Daulatpur and Saturia the most, moving east through Daulatpur and eventually northeast and into Saturia. In total, this tornado killed an estimated 1,300 people making it the most deadly tornado on record.
May
There were 231 tornadoes confirmed in the US in May, including seven F4 tornadoes.
May 5
A deadly outbreak spawned 17 tornadoes in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, and was responsible for a combined total of $169 million in damage in the four states. It also caused seven deaths and 168 injuries.
June
There were 252 tornadoes confirmed in the US in June.
A series of tornadoes caused more than $130 million in damage across the Northeastern United States on July 10. The storm system affected five states with severe weather, including hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter, thunderstorm winds up to 90 mph, and 17 tornadoes.
August
There were 36 tornadoes confirmed in the US in August.
September
There were 31 tornadoes confirmed in the US in September.
October
There were 30 tornadoes confirmed in the US in October.
November
There were 57 tornadoes confirmed in the US in November.
November 15–16
A destructive tornado outbreak affected a large swath of the southern and eastern United States as well as Canada in Mid-November. It produced at least 41 tornadoes and caused 30 deaths as a result of two deadly tornadoes. The most devastating tornado occurred in Huntsville, Alabama, when an F4 tornado killed 21 people on the afternoon of the 15th. Nine of the people killed in Huntsville were in cars. Nine more fatalities were reported at a single elementary school by an F1 tornado on the 16th in Newburgh, New York. Several other significant tornadoes were reported across 15 states.
December
There were 3 tornadoes confirmed in the US in December.
