Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 was one of the largest tornado outbreaks on record which affected the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. Most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas; isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas. An especially destructive tornado destroyed one-third of Joplin, Missouri, resulting in 158 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The Joplin tornado is the deadliest in the U.S. since April 9, 1947, when an intense tornado killed 181 in the Woodward, Oklahoma area. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Overall, the tornado outbreak resulted in 184 deaths, 6 of those non-tornadic, making it second only to the 2011 Super Outbreak as the deadliest since 1974, and the second costliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history behind that same April 2011 outbreak, with insured damage estimated at $4–7 billion.
Tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008
On June 5, a storm system caused damage throughout the Great Plains. The most substantial damage occurred in Altus, Oklahoma, where 179 homes sustained some form of damage, with two destroyed, five with major damage, 43 with minor damage and 129 affected. Seventeen businesses were damaged, with two destroyed, four with major damage and eight with minor damage. A school in Mulvane, Kansas had roof damage and there was significant roof damage to the terminal building at an airport near Winfield. In Lawrence, The Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival shut down while the storm passed through. On June 8, thunderstorms affected areas across the Great Lakes region. Two people were killed in Ottawa County, Michigan due to the straight-line winds that toppled trees; one onto a pedestrian and another onto a car. In Eaton County, a woman was killed by winds which blew a large trailer on to her. Over 300,000 people in Michigan were left without power due to the storm.
On June 10, a powerful squall line of thunderstorms with embedded supercells developed across New York and moved northeast through parts of northern New England and Quebec. Particularly hard hit was the Montreal region and its southern suburbs including Longueuil, Châteauguay, Brossard and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Barns were reported damaged and other structures sustained roof and siding damage; particularly in the Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu area where one home was pushed from its foundation. In Sainte-Catherine, the roof of an office was blown into a nearby residence punching a large hole on the back wall. On Montreal's Champlain Bridge, eight tractor trailers were overturned forcing the closure of the entire bridge in both directions. In addition, a window washing platform tumbled from a high rise building in downtown Montreal. The workers were able to get inside.
Severe thunderstorms also affected the Saint-Hyacinthe, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City where winds as strong as were reported with locally higher gusts while hail from golf ball to baseball size were reported in Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Belœil breaking windows from homes and vehicles. The roof of a 65 unit apartment complex in Sainte-Foy was heavily damaged. The Quebec Bridge linking the city to the suburb of Levis was also temporarily shut down because of a collapsed scaffolding. About 300,000 Hydro-Québec customers across the province lost power, particularly in the Quebec City, Montérégie and Montreal regions with outages occurring in the Eastern Townships and Mauricie regions. Schools in some areas were closed on June 11 due to the power outages. The tractor trailer accidents resulted in two minor injuries during the storms. According to a report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, insured damage amounts were estimated at $56 million (2008 CAD), and up to 16,000 insurance claims were filed for damage to homes and automobiles.