As I said in my earlier post of March 6 “March and Tornadoes” that tornadoes do form in March in Pakistan that only happens when a western disturbance is passing through the country, thus on March 19 a killer tornado hit the sports-manufacturing city of Punjab, Sialkot. Rainfall quantity could not be recorded since the tornado occurred in the remote villages of Sialkot. The villages included Machchraala, Chakraala and Buhadarpura. The winds of this tornado was 200 mph (322 kph), it was a F4 tornado on the Fujita scale.
Destruction by the tornado
It caused destruction in Naqadpur, Macharala, Eid-Gah, Dera Bhattian and Bahadarpur villages of Head Marala district of Sialkot. The houses were tore into pieces, electirc poles, trees, sign boards were uprooted and many people were buried alive. According to the local people of the village every thing went from grey to severe dark. One person said,”It was raining and winds were strong but then suddenly very intense thunder occurred and dark clouds started to touch the ground and within mintutes every thing (including tractors) was flying”. Atleast 20 people are dead with over 40 injured due to this storm.
How did the Sialkot tornado form?
It is really hard to tell what the quantity of rainfall was as there were no weather station in these villages. It seems that the “Lahore phenomenon” might have been the case in Sialkot as well. This is what might have happened;
As the western disturbance was passing over upper Punjab to India, which was bringing cold air from the west, if you remember there was already a warm heat wave present over Sindh and South Punjab. Both the air may have collided with each other over Sialkot which may have caused a intense super cell to develop, a super cell is a very tall and rotating thunderstorm that often produce hailstorm, flooding rain, high winds and tornadoes. The super cell may have produced the tornado and dissipated after passing over Sialkot due to unfavourable conditions. It must be noted that tornado lasted for 30 minutes. The storm started to develop at 1 pm and dissipated at 5 pm on March 19.
Past tornadoes in Pakistan
Tornadoes are not common in Pakistan but they do occur after 5 to 10 years moslty in March due to the interaction of cold and hot air in this month. Almost every tornado that hits Pakistan forms in Upper Punjab.
- On 10 March 1981, a killer tornado killed some 56 people and injured 600 people in Gujranwala and Sheikhupura districts of Punjab province.
- On 10 March 1985, a tornado killed 18 people in the northern areas of the country.
- In 1995, hundred people were reported to have been killed by a tornado in Pakistan.
- On 28 March 2001, a killer tornado killed 10 people and injured some 100 people in Chak Misran village near Bhalwal area in Punjab province. The tornado had surface winds greater than 75 mph. It uprooted electric poles and bill boards in the area.
- On 12 October 2006, a tornado formed near Rawalpindi in Punjab.
- Another Tornado hit Narang Mangi near Narowal city in Punjab province but no relevant data is available about this tornado.
What climatic impact will tornado leave for Pakistan?
Tornadoes do not cause any weather pattern to change but there is a theory that cycles of tornado years may reduce tropical cyclone activity in the country. If this is true then Karachiites are not going to witness a tropical depression this year.
Other factors behind Sialkot episode?
God is not happy with us
Many people believe that strange weather patterns and destructive weather are some of the signs from God that he is not happy with us. Some say these strange weather patterns are a warning signs from God and that the Judgement day is close.
The word “HAARP”
Many Pakistanis are blaming the HAARP for the tornado. It must be noted that Pakistanis came to know about HAARP since 2010 floods. Although no one can create weather sitting miles and miles away. But in this new world many people around the world blame HAARP for strange weather.
Strange weather events and Super moon
It is said that before and after super moon disasters struck the planent. Earthquake and tsunami did hit Japan week before the super moon and yesterday 6.0 magnitude hit Japan on the day of super moon, though scientist and expert have said that there is no relation between them. The tornado hit Pakistan also on the day of Super moon, so was it the super moon that caused the tornado?
Is it Global warming?
In February too a strange hailstorm hit Lahore that was intense and long-lived. Now once again a city of Punjab have witness an unusual tornado, before that Balochistan province witness some winter flash floods. The heat wave in Karachi was about to break the previous March temperatures. Is Global warming once again targeting Pakistan?
Check this to see the tornado in Sialkot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTjR6FzJGQI&feature=player_embedded & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiPdNXkIvUE&feature=related
Pakistan Weather Portal (PWP) 