1931 Lublin tornado

On July 20, 1931, a violent tornado struck the city of Lublin in Poland. The damage from the tornado was rated F4 on the Fujita scale by the European Severe Storms Laboratory. The tornado killed six people and injured at least 100 others.

Summary
The tornado destroyed several buildings in Lublin. Some structures had walls that were  thick. Train railroad cars were overturned and some were moved a few meters away. Industrial chimneys were thrown by the tornado. Structures made out of iron were bent. Buildings made of wood in the path of the tornado were leveled to the ground. These included sawmills, homes, and barns. The Lublin slaughterhouse and sugar factory were completely destroyed. Other industrial buildings were destroyed as well. Some buildings had debris thrown over a mile away. A city bus was picked up and thrown by the tornado. The tornado traveled around  and was described as being a narrow “dark mass in the shape of a funnel”. In total, the tornado killed six people and injured over 100 others.

The Polish Weather Service estimated the tornado had winds between . This mean it was potentially at F5 intensity, as F5 tornadoes begin with winds at . Staff of the University of Warsaw and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States also believe the tornado may have been F5 intensity. A lot of the information about this tornado was documented by Polish scientist Dr. Romuald Gumiński. Gumiński was the vice-director of the Polish government Meteorological Department.

Related pages
List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes

References

Category:1931 in Europe
Category:Tornadoes
Category:1930s in Poland