An extremely rare tornado touched down in Hawaii late on March 23, on the island of Lanai.
On occasion, hail reaches sizes in excess of golf balls, and tornadoes, though rare, also occur.
Usage of the term varied from simply confirmed tornadoes in populated areas to significant, rare tornadoes causing severe damage and injuries.
A rare high-altitude tornado struck Wyoming, uprooting over one million trees along its 24-mile path.
Also on the afternoon of January 10, a rare tornado took place in the Hazel Dell, Washington area.
A rare tornado occurred in the capital of Colombia, Bogotá, and was caught on tape.
Thunderstorms are frequent during the late spring and throughout the summer, and occasionally they can be quite severe, producing the rare tornado.
In Germany, a rare tornado kills two and leaves more than 300,000 people without electricity.
Pforzheim, Germany and its surrounding areas were hit by a rare tornado on July 10 1968, shortly before 22:00.
A rare tornado spawned by the storm destroyed four homes and damaged 19 others.