Type | Tornado outbreak |
---|---|
Duration | April 21, 1967 |
Tornadoes confirmed | 45 |
Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
Fatalities | 58 fatalities, 1,418 injuries |
Damage | $56.432 million (1967 USD) [1] |
Areas affected | Midwestern United States |
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 1967 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale |
The 1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak was a destructive tornado outbreak and severe weather event that occurred on April 21, 1967, across the central Midwest, in particular the towns of Belvidere and Oak Lawn, Illinois, United States. Locally known as 'Black Friday,' it was the largest tornado outbreak of 1967 and one of the most notable to ever occur in the Chicago metropolitan area. The outbreak produced numerous and significant (F2+) tornadoes, with ten of them in Illinois alone. Included was one of just six documented violent (F4/F5) tornadoes in the Chicago metropolitan area since the area was first settled. [2] [3]
April 21, 1967 was a warm Friday afternoon in northern Illinois. Following a foggy morning with temperatures in the middle 50s °F, temperatures rose rapidly in the afternoon as low geopotential heights approached from the southwest. [4] A warm front—part of a very deep shortwave trough—passed through Illinois all day and by afternoon moved north of the state. As a low-pressure area within an extratropical cyclone approached the area, temperatures rose into the low to mid 70s°F with dew points rising into the 60s°F, an upper-level jet reaching 120-knot (220 km/h), and increasing low-level vertical shear. Meanwhile, a persistent mesolow feature near Joliet, Illinois, [4] helped to maintain backed low-level winds from the south. [5]
State | Total | County | County total |
---|---|---|---|
Illinois | 58 | Boone | 24 |
Cook | 33 | ||
Lake | 1 | ||
Totals | 58 | ||
All deaths were tornado-related |
As conditions became more favorable for tornadoes and supercells began developing in the Chicago area, the regional U.S. Weather Bureau office issued a tornado watch at 1:50 p.m. CDT covering the northern half of Illinois plus southern Wisconsin, eastern Iowa, and western Indiana. [4] By 3 p.m. CDT/2100 UTC, more than 12 tornadoes had already been spawned from the storm system. [5]
FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 5 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 45 |
F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Missouri | ||||||
F0 | NE of Azen | Scotland | 1400 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | Tornado was observed on the ground but apparently caused no damage. [6] | |
F1 | NE of Gower | Clinton | 1830 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) | Dust-laden tornado was seen but caused no damage. [6] | |
F1 | Cameron | Clinton | 1900 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Tornado caused some damage in south Cameron. Condensation funnel was reportedly absent. [6] | |
F2 | E of Pattonsburg | Daviess | 1900 | 8.4 miles (13.5 km) | Tornado completely leveled all buildings except the house at one farm site and destroyed one wall of the house. [3] Tornado may have formed from the same thunderstorm that struck Cameron, but the time does not suggest this. [6] | |
F0 | NE of Gallatin | Daviess | 1915 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Brief touchdown failed to produce evidence of damage. [6] | |
F3 | N of Mandeville | Ray, Carroll | 1920 | 14.6 miles (23.5 km) | Tornado extensively damaged or leveled homes, barns, and other outbuildings. It also injured livestock. [3] [6] | |
F2 | S of Humphreys | Grundy, Sullivan | 2000 | 6.3 miles (10.1 km) | Tornado destroyed eight homes, severely damaged seven others, and shattered glass windows [6] as it hit Humphreys. [3] Two children and a woman were injured in their trailer, as were four men sheltering inside a barn. [6] Grazulis rated the tornado F3. [3] | |
F2 | NE of Cunningham | Chariton | 2010 | 3 miles (4.8 km) | Neither Grazulis (1991) nor Storm Data lists this tornado, suggesting that it was either weaker than F2 in intensity or never existed. [3] [6] | |
F4 | NE of Sumner to W of Newark | Linn, Macon, Knox | 2020 | 59 miles (95 km) | Four homes and several barns were completely leveled while two people received minor injuries. [3] Three or more funnels and erratic shifts in the damage path were reported to have occurred, [6] suggesting that the long-tracked tornado was in fact a tornado family. [3] | |
F2 | W of Marshall to SE of Slater | Saline | 2020 | 20.4 miles (32.8 km) | This tornado may have actually included two or more touchdowns, implying that the single event was two or more tornadoes. It caused minor damage to a porch and to farm buildings along its skipping path. [6] Grazulis did not rate the tornado as significant (F2+). [3] | |
F0 | W of Corder | Lafayette | 2103 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Tornado did not cause any noticeable damage. [6] | |
F1 | NE of Adrian | Bates | 2110 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Tornado produced minor damage to buildings and farm equipment. [6] | |
Indiana | ||||||
F1 | Rushville | Rush | 1833 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
F2 | NE of Commiskey | Jennings, Jefferson | 2310 | 6.3 miles (10.1 km) | Tornado unroofed and destroyed two homes, injuring two people, and then leveled a trailer and farm buildings. [3] | |
F0 | NE of Monticello | White | 0227 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Tornado produced very minimal damage. [6] | |
Iowa | ||||||
F3 | E of Fairfield | Jefferson | 2000 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Tornado never hit any structures and only briefly made contact with the ground. [6] | |
F2 | E of Birmingham to NE of Mount Union | Van Buren, Hancock | 2100 | 32.8 miles (52.8 km) | Tornado damaged 12 or more farms with only minimal F2 intensity at most. [3] The damage path was very discontinuous, with only isolated patches of "extensive damage." [6] | |
Illinois | ||||||
F1 | SW of Spring Hill | Whiteside | 2130 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | ||
F2 | E of Coal Valley to S of Hooppole | Henry | 2135 | 25.1 miles (40.4 km) | Numerous funnel clouds occurred with multiple reports of tornadoes. First tornado touched down north of Orion with isolated touchdowns to beyond Hooppole, with significant non-tornado-related wind damage. [6] Tornado killed livestock, [6] destroyed farm buildings, and uprooted trees. [3] | |
F2 | N of Hooppole | Henry | 2150 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) | Second Hooppole tornado leveled farm buildings and blew down large trees in rural areas. [6] | |
F4 | SW of Belvidere to N of Woodstock | Boone, McHenry | 2150 | 25.5 miles (41.0 km) | 24 deaths — See section on this tornado | |
F1 | S of Daysville | Ogle | 2200 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | Tornado caused damage to many homes and downed trees while moving north, unlike other tornadoes this day which moved east-northeast. [6] | |
F2 | W of Maytown | Lee | 2202 | 5.6 miles (9.0 km) | Tornado severely damaged trees [6] and farms and flipped a truck on Illinois State Highway 76 (now an Illinois route). [3] | |
F1 | SE of Amboy | Lee | 2215 | 5.6 miles (9.0 km) | Tornado destroyed barns [3] and blew down trees. Two distinct damage paths and funnel clouds observed, suggesting that a family of two tornadoes was involved. [6] | |
F1 | W of Kasbeer | Bureau | 2230 | 0.5 miles (0.80 km) | Tornado destroyed buildings on farms and scattered debris about. Almost went undetected but was observed by mushroom–gatherers. [6] | |
F2 | SE of Hennepin | Putnam | 2230 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | Tornado injured a man as it flipped two trailers and caused minimal tree damage. [6] Grazulis (1993) did not rate the tornado as significant (F2+). | |
F1 | SE of DeKalb | DeKalb | 2240 | 2 miles (3.2 km) | Two tornadoes touched down 2 miles (3.2 km) apart from each other but are listed as one tornado. One tornado damaged structures and broke glass and trees at Northern Illinois University while uplifting a roof 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south with $50,000 (1967 USD) roof damage. Second tornado damaged farms simultaneously about 8 miles (13 km) to the south, but with discontinuous damage. [6] Probably a tornado family. | |
F4 | NW of Middlebury to Lake Zurich to W of Hawthorn Woods | McHenry, Lake | 2300 | 8.8 miles (14.2 km) | 1 death — See section on this tornado | |
F2 | Elgin | Kane | 2310 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | Tornado destroyed one barn [3] and caused roof and wall damage to Elgin State Hospital. [6] Also badly damaged a factory. The state hospital sustained $100,000 in damages. | |
F1 | NW of Bloomingdale | DuPage | 2310 | 0.5 miles (0.80 km) | Tornado briefly hit Keeneyville with little damage. [6] | |
F1 | Addison to Schiller Park | DuPage, Cook | 2310 | 6.8 miles (10.9 km) | Tornado skipped through several communities, including Franklin Park, with minimal damage. [6] | |
F4 | Palos Hills/Oak Lawn to Chicago South Side (entered Lake Michigan at 79th Street beach [5] ) | Cook | 2324 | 15 miles (24 km) | 33 deaths — See section on this tornado | |
F1 | Lincoln Park [6] | Cook | 2340 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | Tornado damaged an amusement park before moving over Lake Michigan. [5] | |
F1 | Champaign | Champaign | 0250 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Brief touchdown on a farm. [6] | |
F2 | Geneva | Kane, Cook | unknown | unknown | Tornado struck 3 homes on the north side of Batavia before damaging 25 homes in Geneva. Some of the homes lost roofs and walls. 20 homes were also damaged in Streamwood. [7] | |
Michigan | ||||||
F2 | Casco to Dunningville [6] | Allegan | 2355 | 18.6 miles (29.9 km) | Trailer and warehouse destroyed with many homes damaged. Minor injuries reported. [6] Grazulis did not rate the tornado as significant (F2+). [3] | |
F3 | SW of Grandville to E of Ada [6] | Kent | 2358 | 13.6 miles (21.9 km) | Struck the south side of Grand Rapids. 65 buildings were destroyed, and 60 others were badly damaged. 375 buildings sustained minor damage. A church and a K-Mart store were completely destroyed. [3] | |
F2 | NE of Middleville to NW of Lake Odessa | Barry | 0000 | 14.5 miles (23.3 km) | A house had its roof and kitchen ripped off. [3] | |
F2 | Derby | Berrien | 0025 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | School under construction leveled, pieces carried 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) away. Several barns and outbuildings leveled as well. [6] Grazulis did not rate the tornado as significant (F2+). [3] | |
F0 | S of Holton | Muskegon | 0110 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | A brief tornado touchdown in a rural area with other funnels also witnessed to have touched down. [6] | |
F2 | Portland | Ionia | 0115 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Homes were unroofed in Portland, four barns were destroyed, and 40 cattle were killed. [3] | |
F4 | NE of Westphalia | Clinton | 0115 | 12 miles (19 km) | This violent destroyed buildings on 10 farms. Three homes were destroyed, 18 others were damaged, and 34 sheep were killed in 2 barns. Grazulis rated the tornado F3. [3] | |
F2 | N of Cascade | Kent | 0130 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | Rural outbuildings were destroyed along its path. [6] Grazulis did not rate the tornado as significant (F2+). [3] | |
F1 | N of Sunfield | Eaton | 0148 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Some farm buildings were destroyed. [6] | |
F2 | Potterville to Lansing | Eaton, Ingham | 0210 | 10.9 miles (17.5 km) | A barn and a Meijer store were destroyed, and the side of a house was torn off. [3] | |
F4 tornado | |
---|---|
Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
Fatalities | 24 fatalities, 410 injuries |
Damage | $250,000 (1967 USD) [8] |
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale |
The F4 tornado that struck the Belvidere-Harvard-Woodstock area was responsible for one of the highest tornado-related death tolls in a single school building ever recorded when it struck Belvidere High School as multiple school buses were being loaded.[ citation needed ] At 3:50 P.M., a violent multiple vortex tornado, later given an F4 rating, moved through Belvidere, Illinois, damaging the high school and overturning buses. [4] [3] A total of 24 people were killed with 13 of the dead in Belvidere at Belvidere High School, making this tornado the sixth deadliest ever to hit a school. [5] 410 people were injured as well and 127 homes destroyed with another 379 being damaged. [4] [3] The Belvidere tornado was especially devastating because it hit the school just as students were getting on the buses to go home. [4] Just before 4 p.m. CDT, the tornado reached the school. Twelve buses, already filled with elementary- and middle-school students, were tossed about. Several of the students were tossed into adjacent fields and killed. [4] A bus driver was killed as well. Shortly after the passing of the tornado, faculty and some of the stronger students used the fireproof doors of the high school as stretchers to carry the injured into the cafeteria, the severely injured into the library, and the dead into the gymnasium. Four hundred cars (three hundred new cars and 100 employee cars) were destroyed at the Chrysler plant in town. A school bus driving south of Harvard was thrown into power lines and torn in half. The driver and students survived by sheltering in a ditch.
F4 tornado | |
---|---|
Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
Fatalities | 1 fatality |
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale |
The second violent tornado of the day in Illinois may have developed as far southwest as Elgin but was first observed at about 5:00 p.m. CDT near Fox River Grove, [5] [6] though its path is officially believed to have begun near Middlebury. It then produced a discontinuous [6] damage path through Fox River Grove, North Barrington, and Lake Zurich. [5] The most intense damage, given an F4 rating, occurred at Lake Zurich Manor, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of downtown Lake Zurich; there, roughly 75 homes were leveled and 200 severely damaged. [5] The Acorn Acres subdivision, northeast of and adjourning Lake Zurich Manor, reported scattered damage and debris with about 12 homes severely damaged. [5] According to official plots from Storm Data, the tornado lifted after hitting Acorn Acres, though non-tornadic damages to trees and buildings occurred as far as the intersection of Illinois Route 63 and Gilmer Road. There, severe winds, possibly downbursts, destroyed four homes, one brewery, and a plastic-manufacturing site, though at least one source indicates that the tornado was likely still present at that place. [5] In all, the tornado killed one person, and damaged 400–500 homes and destroyed about 100 other homes. [6] [3] An air-conditioning unit weighing 1,000 lb (16,000 oz) was thrown .5 mi (0.80 km). Cars were picked up and tossed as well. [3]
F4 tornado | |
---|---|
Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
Fatalities | 33 fatalities, ~500-1,000 injuries |
Damage | $40 million+ (1967 USD) [9] |
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale |
The third violent tornado to affect Illinois this day was also the deadliest tornado of the entire outbreak. The F4 tornado that swept through Palos Heights, Oak Lawn, Hometown, Evergreen Park, and skipped through Chicago's Southside, killed 33 people. The path of this tornado was 16 miles long, and at times 200 yards (180 m) wide. It dissipated at Rainbow Beach on Lake Michigan.
An intense supercell with a hook echo on weather radar first appeared at 4:45 p.m. CDT about 18 miles (29 km) west-northwest of Joliet. Later, at 5:15 p.m., an employee of the U.S. Weather Bureau observed a rotating wall cloud about 10 miles (16 km) north of Joliet. Minutes later, severe thunderstorm winds blew out windows in a building, though no tornado or funnel cloud had yet occurred. [10] Near the Little Red Schoolhouse, in what is now the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, an observer first noted a funnel cloud to the south, moving east with hail up to .75 inches (19 mm) in diameter—but he was unable to report to the Weather Bureau as his telephone failed to give a dial tone. [10] At 5:24 p.m. CDT, a tornado touched down at the present-day campus of Moraine Valley Community College [5] and moved east-northeast, mainly at 70° heading. [6] As it touched down, the tornado bent power poles and blew down small trees and vegetation, tossing dirt as it went. It then grew in size to 450 feet (150 yd) wide and entered Palos Hills, destroying about five buildings—including two frame homes and a brick home—and snapping trees. [10] Subsequently, the intensifying funnel severely damaged homes and a drive-in theater [5] in a half-block-wide area of Chicago Ridge. [10]
Over the next six minutes, the tornado attained its maximum intensity as it tore a 16.2-mile (26.1 km) swath of damage through Oak Lawn, Hometown, and Evergreen Park at a 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) ground forward speed. [5] As it passed through the business district of Oak Lawn, the tornado leveled many homes that were built entirely of brick. [10] In Oak Lawn, the tornado threw 25–40 vehicles from the intersection of Southwest Highway and W. 95th St. (US-12/20), [5] killing 16 people who were stuck in traffic during the rush hour. [4] At the same intersection, the tornado destroyed the gym at Oak Lawn Community High School, including the locker room to which the students had been evacuated. Though none were killed, several students were injured. Seven shoppers were killed across the street when the roof of a grocery store collapsed on them. [11]
This tornado ended up being the deadliest of the outbreak. [10] It destroyed the brick pro shop at Beverly Country Club at 87th and Western Avenue, trapping several people who suffered only minor injuries. As it moved beyond Evergreen Park, the tornado weakened and widened as it caused lighter damage to vegetation, roofs, and garages. It finally moved offshore as a waterspout at Rainbow Beach, producing a wind gust up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at a water filtration plant on the lakefront shore. [10] In all, the tornado killed 33 people, including several children at a roller skating rink, and injured 1,000. [12] It destroyed 152 homes and damaged 900, causing $40 million in damage. The destroyed buildings included a high school, grocery store, tavern, market, motel, drive-in theater, restaurant, numerous apartments, and two gas stations. Additionally, the tornado caused numerous fires in Oak Lawn which were quickly extinguished. [12]
Just two days after the outbreak, three inches (76 mm) of snow fell on Belvidere, which only exacerbated the cleanup from Friday's tornadoes. In fact, many cities and towns in the Midwest broke record overnight lows on April 24 and 25. A state of emergency was declared for Boone County, and the reserves came to assist in the cleanup effort.
The tornado has its own section in the Oak Lawn Public Library. [13]
The 1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. From April 3–4, 1974, there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. In the United States, tornadoes struck Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. The outbreak caused roughly $843 million USD in damage, with more than $600 million occurring in the United States. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900 sq mi (2,331 km2) along a total combined path length of 2,600 mi (4,184 km). At one point, as many as 15 separate tornadoes were occurring simultaneously.
On April 10–12, 1965, a devastating severe weather event affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of tornadoes, which became known as the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of tornado strength, ever recorded, including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In all, the outbreak killed 266 people, injured 3,662 others, and caused $1.217 billion in damage.
The 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak was a significant tornado outbreak that affected much of the Central and parts of the Eastern United States, with the highest record-breaking wind speeds of 301 ± 20 mph (484 ± 32 km/h). During this week-long event, 154 tornadoes touched down. More than half of them were on May 3 and 4 when activity reached its peak over Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Arkansas.
The 1990 Plainfield tornado was a devastating tornado that occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 28, 1990. The violent tornado killed 29 people and injured 353. It is the only F5/EF5 rated tornado ever recorded in August in the United States, and the only F5 tornado to strike the Chicago area. There are no known videos or photographs of the tornado itself; however, in 2011, a video surfaced online showing the supercell that spawned the tornado. The Plainfield tornado was part of a small outbreak that produced several tornadoes in the Northern United States, specifically Kansas, and the Canadian province of Ontario.
The 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak was the third notable US tornado outbreak to occur on Palm Sunday and the second to take place in the Southeastern United States. The outbreak produced 29 tornadoes from Texas to North Carolina, killing 40 people and injuring 491, and causing $140 million in damage. The deadliest storm of the outbreak, as well as in the US in 1994, was an F4 tornado that devastated Piedmont, Alabama. It struck the Goshen United Methodist Church right in the middle of the Palm Sunday service, collapsing the roof on the congregation and killing 20 people inside, including the Rev. Kelly Clem's 4-year-old daughter Hannah. Two other houses of worship were also destroyed mid-service. The supercell that formed this tornado tracked for 200 miles (322 km) to South Carolina.
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 2004 was a series of tornado outbreaks that affected much of southern Ontario, the Central and Southern United States from east of the Rockies to the Mid-Atlantic States from May 21 to May 31, 2004. Particularly hard hit were the central Plains from Missouri to Iowa and the Ohio Valley. The Central Plains were hit by two significant outbreaks on May 22 and May 24, the first outbreak of which produced a very large and violent tornado in Hallam, Nebraska. The Ohio Valley was affected by one of the largest tornado outbreaks ever during the Memorial Day weekend on May 29–30.
On March 28, 1920, a large outbreak of at least 37 tornadoes, 31 of which were significant, took place across the Midwestern and Southern United States. The tornadoes left at least 153 dead and at least 1,215 injured. Many communities and farmers alike were caught off-guard as the storms moved to the northeast at speeds that reached over 60 mph (97 km/h). Most of the fatalities occurred in Georgia (37), Ohio (28), and Indiana (21), while the other states had lesser totals. Little is known about many of the specific tornadoes that occurred, and the list below is only partial.
The Tornado outbreak of June 7–8, 1984 was a significant severe weather and tornado event that took place across the central United States from North Dakota to Kansas on June 7–8, 1984. The tornado outbreak produced several significant tornadoes including an F5 tornado which traveled through Barneveld, Wisconsin, in the early hours of June 8, 1984. The entire outbreak killed at least 13 people across three states including 9 in Barneveld alone.
The 1956 McDonald Chapel tornado was a deadly weather event that took place during the afternoon of April 15, 1956, across the Greater Birmingham area in Jefferson County, Alabama, with damage most severe in McDonald Chapel. The F4 tornado killed 25 people and injured 200 others. While only two known tornadoes touched down across the Southeastern United States on that day, the Birmingham tornado produced major devastation across areas west and north of downtown Birmingham.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1989, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1990, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes, however by the 1990s tornado statistics were coming closer to the numbers we see today.
The 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado was a large and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado in which the highest wind speeds ever measured globally were recorded at 301 ± 20 miles per hour (484 ± 32 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar. Considered the strongest tornado ever recorded to have affected the metropolitan area, the tornado while near peak intensity devastated southern portions of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, along with surrounding suburbs and towns to the south and southwest of the city during the early evening of Monday, May 3, 1999. Parts of Bridge Creek were rendered unrecognizable. The tornado covered 38 miles (61 km) during its 85-minute existence, destroying thousands of homes, killing 36 people, and leaving US$1 billion in damage, ranking it as the fifth-costliest on record not accounting for inflation. Its severity prompted the first-ever use of the tornado emergency statement by the National Weather Service.
From April 14–16, 2011, a tornado outbreak, among the largest recorded tornado outbreaks in U.S. history, produced 178 confirmed tornadoes across 16 states, resulting in severe destruction on all three days of the outbreak. A total of 38 people were killed from tornadoes and an additional five people were killed as a result of straight-line winds associated with the storm system. The outbreak of severe weather and tornadoes led to 43 deaths in the Southern United States. This was the largest number of fatalities in an outbreak in the United States since the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak. It is locally referred to as the "Forgotten Outbreak" in Alabama as it was vastly overshadowed by the 2011 Super Outbreak less than two weeks later.
The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. Over 175 tornadoes struck Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, which were the most severely damaged states. Other destructive tornadoes occurred in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, and Virginia, with storms also affecting other states in the Southern and Eastern United States. In total, 360 tornadoes were confirmed by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) and Government of Canada's Environment Canada in 21 states from Texas to New York to southern Canada. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak. April 27 was the most active day, with a record 216 tornadoes touching down that day from midnight to midnight CDT. Four of the tornadoes were rated EF5, which is the highest ranking on the Enhanced Fujita scale; typically these tornadoes are recorded no more than once a year.
During the afternoon of May 22, 2004, a long-track F4 tornado formed during a tornado outbreak and tore through multiple counties in southeast Nebraska. The tornado damaged many towns along its path, but its most significant destructive effect occurred at the town of Hallam. The Hallam tornado is recognized by NOAA as the second-largest tornado on record, peaking at 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide at Hallam, behind only the 2013 El Reno tornado.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1974, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1967, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
Throughout the evening hours of April 9, 2015, an extremely violent and long-lived multiple-vortex tornado tore through the communities near Rochelle and in Fairdale, Illinois. Part of a larger severe weather event that impacted the Central United States, the tornado first touched down in Lee County at 6:39 p.m. CDT (23:39 UTC). It progressed through the counties of Ogle, DeKalb, and Boone before finally dissipating at 7:20 p.m. CDT. Along the tornado's 30.14-mile (48.51 km) path, numerous structures were heavily damaged or destroyed, especially in the small town of Fairdale where two fatalities and eleven injuries were recorded. A few well-constructed homes were swept completely away, indicative of peak winds near 200 mph (320 km/h), the upper bounds of an EF4 tornado. In the aftermath of the event, hundreds of citizens assisted in cleanup and recovery efforts. Economic losses from the tornado reached $19 million.
A destructive and deadly outbreak of 17 tornadoes occurred on February 9–10, 1959, mostly during the overnight hours, causing widespread destruction in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States. The strongest of the outbreak was a violent F4 tornado which tore through Northwestern Downtown St. Louis. An F3 tornado also caused heavy damage to numerous structures in Southern Highland County, Ohio, including a school that was in session at the time the tornado hit. Overall, the outbreak caused 21 fatalities, 358 injuries, and $53.713 million in damage. Non-tornadic impacts also caused two more fatalities, and at least 70 more injuries.
Five scattered tornadoes touched down across the Great Plains and Midwestern United States on June 19, 1951. The event was highlighted by a large, violent F4 tornado family that moved through the western and northern suburbs of Minneapolis, causing all the tornadic casualties from the outbreak. In all, one person was killed, 20 others were injured, and damage was estimated at $56.7 million. There was one additional death and six injuries from non-tornadic events as well.