List of New Zealand tornadoes

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.

[1] 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.

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.

[2] The following is a chart showing New Zealand tornadoes by month or by time period.