An F3 tornado struck the town of

Bouctouche, New Brunswick Bouctouche is a Canadian town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Kent County, New Brunswick. History Bouctouche was originally named Tjipogtotjg (pronounced ''Chebooktoosk''), a Mi'kmaq word meaning "Great Little Harbour". The region was next set ...

on Wednesday, August 6, 1879. It is estimated that the tornado was an F3 in strength, and is the easternmost ''significant'' tornado in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, though weaker tornadoes and

waterspout A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel cloud, funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water. Some are connected to a cumulus congestus cloud, some to a cumuliform cloud and some to a cumulonimbus clou ...

s have been known to form across

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

and rarely in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. The tornado initially started in the

Sainte-Marie Parish, New Brunswick Saint-Marie (originally Saint Mary), is a civil 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 belonging ...

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. The river's name means "Big Little Harbour" in the Mi'km ...

resulting in tree damage and crop damage over a to 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 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. The river's name means "Big Little Harbour" in the Mi'km ...

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 $100,000 USD, which was a very high figure at the time.

References

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
{{coord , 46.473, N, 64.725, W, display=title Tornadoes of 1879 Natural disasters in New Brunswick Kent County, New Brunswick Tornadoes in Canada 1879 in Canada Bouctouche 1879 in New Brunswick August 1879 events Tornadoes in Canada by date

See also

References

External links