On Wednesday, August 6, 1879, an intense

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, later determined to have an F3 rating, struck the town of

Bouctouche, New Brunswick Grand-Bouctouche ( ) is a town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. History Bouctouche was originally named Tjipogtotjg (pronounced ''Chebooktoosk''), a Mi'kmaq word meaning "Great Little Harbour". The region was next settled by brothers F ...

. While weaker tornadoes and

waterspout A waterspout is a rotating column of air that occurs over a body of water, usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud in contact with the water and a cumuliform cloud. There are two types of waterspout, each formed by distinct mechanisms. ...

s have been known to form on or adjacent to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, the tornado is the strongest tornado ever to touch down in the Maritime Provinces and the easternmost strong (F2-F3) tornado ever to occur on the continent of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

as well. The tornado initially started in the

Sainte-Marie Parish, New Brunswick Saint-Marie (originally Saint Mary), is a geographic parish in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. For governance purposes, most of the parish belongs to the town of Champdoré, with small areas along its eastern and northern boundaries bel ...

around 1:00 PM AST before moving eastward towards Mill Creek, New Brunswick. From Mill Creek, the tornado followed the northern edge of the

Buctouche River The Buctouche River (colloquially spelt Bouctouche) is a river in eastern New Brunswick, Canada which empties into the Buctouche Bay in the Northumberland Strait in the town of Bouctouche. Buctouche means "Little Great Harbour" in the Mi'kmaq. ...

resulting in tree damage and crop damage over a wide path for before impacting

. As the tornado entered the town, it destroyed upwards of 100 buildings, including the Bouctouche Church. The tornado missed the St Mary's Church and the Presbyterian Church. As the tornado approached the coast, it destroyed various dwellings and shops near the ship-yard. The bridge that crosses Bouctouche River in the town was also destroyed alongside the new school. The number of people killed in the tornado ranges depending on the source; however, the general number ranges from five to eight fatalities with the tornado injuring many. In addition to the number of people injured and killed, the amount of destroyed dwellings resulted in many being homeless. The damage costs were estimated around US$100,000, which was a very high figure at the time.

References

The Buctouche Tornado by Michael Newark, Chinook, Summer 1979, Vol 1, No 4, pp 52,53. https://cmosarchives.ca/index_publications.html

External links

Environment Canada's information page on Tornadoes

Canadian Atlas of strong tornadoes

* ttps://images.ourontario.ca/Partners/CKLPL/CKLPL003330202pf_0004.pdf Contemporary newspaper article about the tornado
Weather Events: Canada's Deadliest Tornadoes
{{DEFAULTSORT:1879 Bouctouche Tornado 19th-century tornadoes Tornado, Bouctouche Tornado, Bouctouche Tornado, 1879, Bouctouche 1879, Tornado, Bouctouche 1879 Bouctouche Bouctouche Tornado 1879 Tornado Bouctouche Tornado Bouctouche Tornado

See also

References

External links