F2 tornado damages hundreds of homes in São José dos Pinhais, Brazil
An F2 tornado struck Guatupê, São José dos Pinhais, in Brazil on January 10, 2026, damaging hundreds of homes and leaving 2 people with minor injuries.
An F2 tornado strikes Guatupê, Brazil, on January 10, 2026. Image credit: SIMEPAR
A lower-end F2 tornado struck the Guatupê neighborhood in São José dos Pinhais late on January 10, according to the Paraná Environmental Technology and Monitoring System (Simepar).
The tornado damaged around 350 homes, impacting about 1 200 people, and left at least 2 people with minor injuries. Strong winds and heavy rains also affected the region, downing at least 57 trees in Curitiba, with winds reaching 70 km/h (43 mph) through the day.
The twister formed under the influence of a low-pressure system that formed between Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul before moving out over the ocean.
“The most severe storm cell developed late in the afternoon over Almirante Tamandaré and Colombo, moved over Curitiba causing intense winds and hail, and then reached São José dos Pinhais,” according to Leonardo Furlan, a meteorologist at Simepar.
“It was a relatively narrow tornado, small in horizontal extent, but it caused significant damage in the region. At times the funnel cloud touched the ground, with its circulation interacting with the surface and configuring a tornado; at other times it lifted, and damage was not identified. In other words, the damage was localized,” said Furlan.
According to Simepar, the strongest wind gust recorded across the state on January 10 reached 75.6 km/h (46.9 mph) in Ivaí at around 16:00 LT.
Rainfall totals up to 17:15 on January 10 reached 111.2 mm (4.38 inches) in Palotina and 100.4 mm (3.95 inches) in São Miguel do Iguaçu. Guarapuava recorded 83.6 mm (3.29 inches), followed by Mangueirinha with 77.6 mm (3.06 inches), Foz do Iguaçu with 75.8 mm (2.98 inches), Pinhão with 73.8 mm (2.91 inches), and Laranjeiras do Sul with 71.2 mm (2.80 inches).
The same storm cell continued along its path toward the Paraná coast, causing a severe storm in the Guaratuba and Matinhos region. In Guaratuba, wind gusts also exceeded 60 km/h (37.2 mph), along with 60 mm (2.3 inches) in less than half an hour.
References:
1 Roofing, falling trees and walls: tornado in São José dos Pinhais causes damage – G1 – January 11, 2026
2 Tornado F2 wreaks havoc in São José dos Pinhais – AgroLink – January 13, 2025
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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