An overview of tornado and waterspout events in Catalonia (2000–2019)

Abstract

The study includes 105 tornadoes and 329 waterspouts reported in a 32,000 km2 area, and therefore, it presents one of the highest tornado and waterspout densities in the Mediterranean basin according to recent climatologies. Remote-sensing tools such as weather radar, lightning detection and satellite imagery have been used to validate each event. Moreover, fieldwork performed after several tornado cases and the use of high-resolution aerial imagery have provided information to characterise damage paths, including the length and width of the damage swath and the maximum intensity according to the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Finally, a list of the analysed events is provided for further research.