Indonesia tornado database: tornado climatology of Indonesia

Abstract. The climatology of tornadoes, waterspouts, and funnel clouds for Indonesia is compiled into a new tornado database based on newspaper archives, online news, and social media (X, YouTube), covering the period from 1800 to 2024. We present the analysis over two periods: (i) historical and (ii) recent periods. The climatology includes the annual, monthly, diurnal, and geographical data for tornado cases. Based on a review of 47 669 reports mentioning tornadoes, we identified 436 tornado cases with sufficient evidence to be classified as tornado events. In the recent period (2010–2024), the annual frequency of tornadoes was 16.20 cases yr−1, while in the historical period (1800–2009), the annual frequency was 1.10 cases yr−1. Tornadoes were mostly documented in Java Island, followed by Sumatra and Sulawesi. The monthly variability of tornadoes shows a maximum during November, followed by December and January. The peak of the diurnal cycle of tornado cases is between 13:00 and 17:00 Local Solar Time.