User talk:Eerier Fish

List of California tornadoes

Hey there Eerier Fish. I saw your edit here to the List of California tornadoes. You added some incorrect information to the lead, which I wanted to make sure you were aware of. You said there were seven tornadoes on April 1, 1996, but the sources I came across say there were five, so I changed it back to that.

I was curious though, if you have an interest in severe weather. There are a lot of articles that could use some work, if you're interested. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 19:50, 10 January 2024 (UTC)

I could have sworn there were seven mb Eerier Fish (talk) 06:26, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

Do you have a reference for that? The reference I found from 2012 said there were five. Granted, that source also said five was the most in a single day, which I found out was false when I stumbled across the outbreak on November 9, 1982. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 18:50, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

I think there were actually 7 that day. NCEI or SPC might have that source. Eerier Fish (talk) 17:35, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

NCDC storm events does list seven events for the day, but that doesn't mean that there were seven different tornadoes that day. It could've been two event reports for the same tornado. I say that because there are a lot of sources saying there were only five that day. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 19:20, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

True Eerier Fish (talk) 23:35, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

I wonder if you have any interest in helping write any other weather topics. Is it tornadoes specifically that you're interested in? What about other types of California weather? I ask because I was working on Climate of California (to add Cali tornadoes), and quickly became overwhelmed. Since you already went through the process of making a user page, and you have enough weather interest to know what NCEI and SPC are, why not use that weather passion and help build up some of Wikipedia's weather articles? There's a whole community of editors at the Weather WikiProject. That serves as a hub for all weather-related articles across Wikipedia, and there is a place to join the list of active members, if you want. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:55, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

Well I’m not a scientist. So I don’t really think it’s for me, I just know natural disasters by events. Eerier Fish (talk) 03:47, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

I'm not a scientist either, I teach music lessons and play music theatre shows. But I always had an interest in weather, and I stumbled upon Wikipedia as a way of scratching that itch for knowledge. A lot of major natural disasters have articles, and a lot of those articles need a lot of work. And that's where you come in (potentially). ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:01, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

Well. I actually live in this state, and unlike most people over here, I’m actually aware of unpredictable weather, (well except for SoCal I guess) who knows what could happen one day. Eerier Fish (talk) 06:35, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

Oh cool, what kind of music? Eerier Fish (talk) 06:54, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

I'm a songwriter, and I play a lot of rock, pop, and music theatre. And as for Cali weather, yea it's quite unpredictable! That's why I'm working on Hurricane Hilary now. I couldn't believe how widespread and damaging the floods were. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 22:26, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

There’s already a Wikipedia page about that, but yeah I was there when it happened. Pretty scary stuff man Eerier Fish (talk) 03:43, 15 January 2024 (UTC)

Oh yea, but the article is incomplete. I'm trying to recruit editors who might be interested in writing articles. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 05:12, 15 January 2024 (UTC)

hey. sorry to bother you 2 years later. but can you give me a source for the 1891 SF tornado? im having trouble finding the newspaper that claims one death. Eerier Fish (talk) 06:41, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

OH. and also i managed too find more information on a specific tornado event that happened in the SF area in 1951. 3 F2 Tornadoes and 1 F1 on January 11 1951. Though i would argue one of them is possibly a F3, since some houses we're lifted off their foundations and a 32 Ton crane was lifted and thrown. and this event had 30 injuries total. Was wondering if its ok if i can edit that part? I was also considering on starting a debate about it online. Eerier Fish (talk) 06:52, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

I saw your recent edit for the 1951 tornadoes, but I don't think it's a high quality source. Especially since the website has "Patreon sponsors" at the top of the page. If you can get a source to confirm the second tornado via Grazulis, that would be fine, but you need a reliable source to confirm that. As for the 1891 SF tornado, I fixed the newspaper. If you have access to the newspaper archive, you'll be able to check out the newspaper. For some reason the URL got changed. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 00:06, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Also, because List of California tornadoes is a featured list, everything needs to remain high-quality. That's why I'm being picky over your recent edition. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 00:28, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

im willing to try to preserve these deadly tornadoes on tornado archive so they don’t get lost in time and more people will be aware of them.

as for the 1951 tornadoes. Based on the newspapers i saw in tornado talk it seems like SPC didn’t document one correctly especially the sunnyvale one. I wasn’t exactly sure if the other ones existed but i put them there anyway.

oh and also, i went through the recent outbreak in California and i got motivated to try to find as much information as possible. I also want to ask if you we’re interested in helping me create a project called “California Tornado Archive” which documents tornadoes that have happened in the state and even the ones that havent been documented officially by spc. Eerier Fish (talk) 01:37, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

That's the thing, there isn't a need for a California tornado archive if the Wikipedia article stays high quality. So I'm only interested in maintaining the Wikipedia list. Where did you determine that the SPC didn't document the 1951 one correctly? And again, do you have any high quality sources that back up there being more than one tornado? If so, can you add it? ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:08, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Also, if you notice, you messed up the formatting. Try making it look the same as the other entries. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:10, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

apologies if i messed up the format. I'm not used to editing on Wikipedia. Tell me what I should fix so I can do it? Eerier Fish (talk) 04:21, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

And you said you fixed the link for the 1891 SF tornado but it still looks like its down. Eerier Fish (talk) 04:24, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

And If you want a reliable source for the 1951 tornadoes, can I just add the newspapers? Eerier Fish (talk) 04:26, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Do you have access to the newspaper archive? Also, compare the formatting of the 1951 outbreak with other outbreaks. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 05:15, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

I don’t have a way of accessing without paying unfortunately. I kinda don’t know what to do now :/ Eerier Fish (talk) 07:12, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

ill try to figure something out. in the meantime im stressing about this the section i put. because iv never learned to put links inside numbers in wikipedia but don’t fear ill figure it out. just hang in. Eerier Fish (talk) 07:16, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Have you heard about the Wikipedia library? If you sign up for it, you can get access to newspaper archives. But you might not have edited enough to get access to it. Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 17:26, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Ill def check it out later. In the mean time. Ill see what information I can edit on tornado archive so they can update their site for California tornadoes (and some Arizona ones) Eerier Fish (talk) 17:58, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

So since the source does not seem reliable, I removed your information, but I want to work with you to re-add it back in. Here is the Wikipedia library. You don't have 500 edits yet, so you won't be able to get access to the newspaper archive, but there are other newspaper archives out there, and potentially other sources, that can corroborate the information. Do you have access to the Grazulis book, for example? That would be enough of a reliable source to add the second tornado. As for the tornado archive, I'm not interested working on that, since I don't believe it's a reliable source, while Wikipedia is often one of the first hits you get on Google. You mentioned Arizona though. Would you be interested in working on a List of Arizona tornadoes? It looks like there have been a few hundred, including one in 1964 that killed two people in Tucson. There was an Arizona tornado outbreak in 2010 that already has an article. So an Arizona tornado list could be quite useful. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 18:39, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

I could work on a Arizona list, but the problem with arizona tornadoes is that they are way more rare and it is way safer from tornadoes then california is despite having slightly more powerful ones. And i don't have grazulis book. its expensive Eerier Fish (talk) 19:26, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

As for tornado archive, its really not a perfect site but it has a lot to offer and theres always room for improvement. Eerier Fish (talk) 19:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

"its really not a perfect site but it has a lot to offer and theres always room for improvement" - literally people say the same thing about Wikipedia :P Also, every state should probably have a tornado climatology list. The fact that there were several significant Arizona tornadoes means that there could be a list, and the fact they're rare means people should be aware. That's why I worked on the List of Cali tornadoes. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 21:23, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

I never said wikipedia was perfect either lol Eerier Fish (talk) 22:16, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

also, what do you think the ratings are for the SF 1981 and 1952 santa monica one? I think they might be F2 intensity. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:27, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

I'm not interested in speculating, sorry, I'm mostly interested in improving/writing weather articles. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:16, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

A bit of a update. and its a rather stupid one. I found the page for the 1891 tornado but i can’t access it without doing a free trial and i aint paying for that. I still believe you though and the wikipedia should still preserve it. Eerier Fish (talk) 00:00, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

Yea, I told you before that you don't have 500 edits yet, which is what you need to be able to get free access to the newspaper archive. Also, what do you mean "Wikipedia should still preserve it"? ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 00:42, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

I was referring to the California Tornado Archive. Eerier Fish (talk) 01:43, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

did i say archive? i meant to say wikipedia gosh im out of it today. Eerier Fish (talk) 01:43, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

So what kind of Wikipedia editing help did you need? Or are you good? ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:41, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

Don’t need anything. Just trying to reach my goal of making more of these tornadoes from the wikipedia known and trying to put it on Tornado Archive. Since a ton of people use that site. Eerier Fish (talk) 03:09, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

though i kinda get worried if they don’t accept the sources im putting. because they take a long time to update their site, even when the year starts. it doesn’t finish until may, june or sometimes July. Eerier Fish (talk) 03:14, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

one last question. do you happen to know the exact location of the tornado in 1891, yeah its in San Francisco but what street and area? Eerier Fish (talk) 07:08, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

You should focus on the Wikipedia article, as Wikipedia is one of the most viewed websites on the planet, and I’ve never heard of the tornado archive before you. If you’re interested in views, stick around here, so you can get access to the newspaper archive once you hit 500 edits. Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 17:04, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Oh yea, Wikipedia is the 11th most popular website online. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 18:53, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

You'd be surprised on how many people rely on tornado archive instead of Wikipedia. Which I agree people should use Wikipedia also but not every state has its own list on Tornadoes. So there has to be alternatives. I definitely think California has been overshadowed because tornado archive doesn't list the fatal ones and also has incorrectly labeled injuries on some of them. Which is why I'm fixing it. Eerier Fish (talk) 19:18, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Well I hate to say it, but we’re not on tornado archive, are we? This is Wikipedia, and I’m only going to talk to you about Wikipedia related matters. Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 19:38, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

What are you talking about. I literally agreed with you about people should rely on Wikipedia instead. Eerier Fish (talk) 21:09, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

You also said that there should be alternatives to Wikipedia because not every state has its own list. I told you earlier to consider working other state tornado lists. Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 22:06, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

I worded that badly. I meant to say people find alternatives instead of Wikipedia. And I have already considered working on other tornado lists when I get used to Wikipedia. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:20, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

I would like to mainly focus on Western Region Tornadoes and some Eastern ones when I get the chance. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:23, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Oh and about the Sunnyvale tornado. I looked at the SF chronical you listed right beside the 1891 tornado. It states that there was a tornado in Sunnyvale in 1951 that damaged over 150 homes. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:29, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

So what do you think about making List of Arizona tornadoes or another state? Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 22:29, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

When I have the time ill do it. Ill do utah. Idaho. Oregon. Washington. and Arizona. Nevada is a weak one but I guess ill also do that. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:38, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Washington is done. There have been 97 tornadoes in Nevada, 134 in Oregon, 145 in Utah, 224 in Idaho, 305 in Arizona. So come to think of it, Arizona would probably be the most annoying to do of the ones you list. I just wanted to check if you knew how to make drafts for articles. You could call it Draft:List of Nevada tornadoes, for example, so you don't have to worry about it being ready for publication as soon as you hit the edit button. And you can copy the formatting from other articles. One of the trickiest parts is figuring out how to do citations, but that can happen later. Also, you don't have to worry about being the only one responsible for working on them! If you join the severe weather WikiProject, you might find other editors interested in helping you out. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 22:48, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

I don't Arizona will be that bad. Unlike California. It seems like Arizona has a low amount of significant tornado events. Including 1964 Tucson. 2010 Outbreak. and 1972 F3 that hit Phoenix. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:59, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Nice. It is more fun working on an article when there are a few good examples. That increases the chances you'll find a random research paper that you can include in a climatology section. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:03, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

I found a water spout that was spotted at san francisco on march 18 2011. For some reason I can't post the video link. So search up San Francisco water spout 2011 and you should see it. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:41, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

on youtube. Eerier Fish (talk) 22:42, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Waterspouts aren't tornadoes. They would only be listed on the Wikipedia article if they hit land. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:06, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Some are. It depends on the type of weather. Eerier Fish (talk) 23:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

If waterspouts hit land, then they are no longer waterspouts, they become tornadoes. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:36, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

I found the page for the 1951 Sunnyvale tornado with 30 people injured in significant tornadoes. I was right all along. https://books.google.com/books?id=yW5NAQAAIAAJ&q=sunnyvale+tornado#v=snippet&q=sunnyvale%20tornado&f=false Eerier Fish (talk) 07:49, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

Nice, would you mind adding that to the article, with the source? ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 16:48, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

Will do. Thomas also documented another tornado that day so ill include it as well. But im not sure how to add number links yet. Eerier Fish (talk) 19:50, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

what bothered me tho was tornado talk made it seem like the tornado was atleast F3 intensity because they said a 32 ton crane was lifted and thrown but thomas didn’t describe any of that and the damage thomas describes is a High-End F2 Eerier Fish (talk) 19:52, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for adding it, but in the future, try working on your writing more. Here's what you wrote:

A 200 Yard High-End F2 tornado struck the cities of Los Gatos and Sunnyvale in Santa Clara County, causing $1.500.000 (1951 USD) in damage. This is the most destructive tornado in California history. The Tornado Damaged Buisnesses and a railroad depot in the Edge of Sunnyvale. Atleast 150 Homes we’re damaged, 24 lost roofs and others we’re lifted off there foundations. 30 People we’re injured from the tornado.

You have "Yard" "High-End" "Tornado" "Damaged" "Homes" all capitalized unnecessarily. "Atleast" watch out for typos like this. Be sure to use the edit preview before you publish. "we’re" you meant to write "were" both times. Just stuff to look out in the future. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 20:36, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

OOPS. I hate typing on phone. thanks for pointing that out, i was trying to add the second one but im having issues with wikipedia right now. when i try to edit i have connection issues. Eerier Fish (talk) 20:37, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

Heh it's much easier to see/notice/fix editing on the computer, I get it, no huge worries. The important thing is that you found the (reliable) source. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 20:46, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

I added the second tornado and changed some things to make the list a little more consistent. Eerier Fish (talk) 21:11, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

I copyedited your addition - you gotta watch out for stuff like we're vs were. Make sure you don't copy stuff or paraphrase it from the source, either. You wrote:

"A home was unroofed and some walls torn off. "

The source had

"A home was unroofed, and had some walls torn off."

In the future, try writing stuff in your own words, and only include the important information. You mentioned the tornado passing near City Hall, but without there being any damage there, I didn't feel it was worth including. Just a heads up for your future editing. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 21:28, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

i think ill just stick to PC then. My editing is mostly not reliable on phone 🤣🤣🤣 Eerier Fish (talk) 21:41, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

There's a principle on Wikipedia, be bold. Sometimes it's better to make the edit, knowing someone else will fix it, and that someone else might even be yourself in the future. There is no deadline, either. But List of California tornadoes is a featured article. If you work on the Arizona or Nevada tornado lists, you'll be dealing with a blank slate, so no time pressure. Speaking of, do you need help setting up the draft for either of them? ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:23, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

ill work on arizona first. since arizona intrests me the second behind california in the western region states. Eerier Fish (talk) 23:38, 20 June 2026 (UTC)

Draft:List of Arizona tornadoes - nothing exciting yet, just the barebones for Arizona. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 00:09, 21 June 2026 (UTC)

also, idk if you realized yet. but you forgot to add 2 injuries in the fresno air terminal tornado in 1980, the source you put listed 2 direct injuries. Eerier Fish (talk) 07:26, 22 June 2026 (UTC)

found more tornadoes for you :P https://books.google.com/books?id=yW5NAQAAIAAJ&q=sunnyvale+tornado#v=snippet&q=los%20angeles&f=false Eerier Fish (talk) 01:43, 24 June 2026 (UTC)

I really appreciate you finding the old Grazulis tornadoes! I copyedited your additions, and added the totals to the tables at the bottom. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:48, 24 June 2026 (UTC)

yw. but something odd i found was the “true” killer tornadoes from 1891 and 1952 weren’t even listed in his book. so now im wondering if gazulis missed them because they aren’t documented well. or if they actually did exist in the first place. Eerier Fish (talk) 02:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

Given the time period, it could be a combination of lack of documentation or being weak tornadoes. Given that the 1952 one was mentioned by the https://www.weather.gov/media/sgx/documents/weatherhistory.pdf San Diego National Weather Service], it likely existed. There is also good documentation for the 1891 event. For some lists, you just have to accept what's in the sources, and do you best to make sense of everything. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 03:47, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

there is a new volume coming soon so its possible gazulis can list them. Eerier Fish (talk) 05:07, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

and also, any tornado that has at least 1 death or greater is considered significant in his book, regardless of how weak or strong it is. Eerier Fish (talk) 05:12, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

Regardless if it's in Grazulis's book or not, the events are still documented, so there's no sense in removing any entries. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 16:23, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

i didn’t say you should remove it. im just pointing out that its odd that gazulis missed them. Eerier Fish (talk) 17:59, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

Yea, that's the difference between publishing a book and having a wiki. You can update Wikipedia so much easier than a book. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 18:00, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Editor's Barnstar
	For your recent additions to the tornado lists! ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:49, 24 June 2026 (UTC)

what is this? Eerier Fish (talk) 23:51, 24 June 2026 (UTC)

It's a barnstar, a Wikipedia award for good edits. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk)