Tornadoes in Australia are relatively rare, with around 10 to 20 observed annually, but can form with almost any severe thunderstorm. The intensity of a tornado is measured using the Fujita scale, which ranges from zero to five depending on the wind speeds involved.

Here, you can see every tornado recorded in the Bureau of Meteorology's severe storm database (the recent Melbourne storm has yet to be added). The frequency of tornadoes over time is largely a function of the number of observers making recordings, rather than any actual increase in tornado frequency.