List of New Zealand tornadoes

The country of New Zealand experiences several tornadoes a year.

Climatology and background

A tornado refers to a violently rotating column of air that reaches the ground, which can be among the most destructive of all atmospheric phenomena. Each year, there are 7–10 damaging tornadoes that touch down in New Zealand, occurring mostly along the west coast of both islands. Tornadoes in New Zealand most often form from squall lines ahead of cold fronts, which have the potential to spawn mesocyclones capable of tornadogenesis. Tornadoes in the country are usually short-lived, narrow, and weak. However, the country's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) assessed the 1948 Frankton tornado as an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, making it New Zealand's strongest known tornado. The 1948 tornado was also its most impactful, with 200 buildings damaged, as well as a rare deadly tornado in the country, with three deaths. New Zealand tornadoes usually range from EF0 to EF1.