Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1896
From May24–28,1896,a violent tornado outbreak sequence—considered one of the worst on record—struck much of the United States,killing at least 388people and injuring 1,490or more. At least 26tornadoes occurred,including intense,long-lived families. Retroactively rated F5 on the Fujita scale,the strongest tornado of the outbreak struck Michigan,killing 47or more people. F4 tornadoes in three other states collectively caused most of the remaining deaths,among them a potent twister that impacted Greater St. Louis,claiming 255lives and becoming the third-deadliest U.S. tornado on record. Additionally,at least one tornado crossed into Canada,inflicting more damage there. Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis dubbed the severe weather episode "perhaps the most violent single week of tornado activity in United States history".[1][note 2]
Weather map on May 26,1896,showing the low pressure system that spawned the tornado outbreak
Prior to 1990,there is a likely undercount of tornadoes,particularly E/F0–1,with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRADDoppler weather radar in 1990–1991.[4][note 3] 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values,attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.[8][note 4] Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.
21+ deaths –A violent tornado passed north of Des Moines,leveling homes and killing at least 18 people in the Bondurant–Santiago–Valeria area. It caused more deaths at Mingo before dissipating,drove a steel railroad rail 15ft (4.6m) into the earth at a spot,and injured 60 people.[19][18][20]
4 deaths –A potent tornado leveled five or more farmhouses and a church,while unroofing other homes. Four family members died near Egan,where a large home was cleanly swept away;"nothing was left on the foundation",according to a report quoted by Grazulis. Five injuries occurred.[19][18][20]
3 deaths –An intense tornado shifted a house on its foundation,causing it to collapse,fatally crush three occupants,and injure half a dozen others. Bits of the house were carried 5mi (8.0km). A barn was wrecked as well,along with outbuildings on 11 farms. In all 10 injuries occurred.[18]
A tornado headed east from Norwood Park to Edison Park,destroying half a dozen homes and leaving 30 others irreparable. Its severest impact was to the most elevated part of Norwood Park.[18][20]
Described as an "auger-shaped funnel" by witnesses,a tornado destroyed three farmhouses,along with cottages and businesses. It also hit a school,lofting its roof 1⁄2mi (0.80km). Four injuries occurred.[18]
1 death – A tornado destroyed five homes, injuring a dozen people in one of them, as well as a school. According to an account, it "lifted and dashed to the ground" another home during a funeral, forcing the 30 attendants to shelter in a nearby ditch. Airborne debris killed an onlooker, and in all 18 injuries occurred.[18]
2 deaths – A tornado leveled barns and homes in the Utica–Warren area, leaving only part of a farmhouse bedroom intact. It then tore a two-block-wide swath through Mount Clemens, wrecking 30 homes, and destroyed more homes in Harrison Township. The unfinished Mount Clemens Sanatorium (later the Colonial Hotel) was leveled. Passing over Lake St. Clair, it did additional damage in Canada. Grazulis initially rated it F4 in a 1984 study, but downgraded it later. In all 15 injuries occurred.[19][18][21]
A tornado damaged the entire community of Amadore, tearing apart a few homes before ending over Lake Huron as a waterspout. Three injuries occurred.[18]
May27 event
List of confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, May 27, 1896
6+ deaths – Forming close to the path of an F4 event on May 20, 1891, this tornado hit two schools, killing four or five students and injuring 35 people. It also killed a few more people in farmhouses and injured 50 in all.[23]
14 deaths – A tornado leveled farms, injuring 50 people. Most of the dead were at New Minden. The tornado tracked through or near Hoyleton, Richview, and Boyd.[24][18]
24 deaths – A violent tornado family flattened many homes, especially in and around New Baden, where 13 people died. It claimed a dozen more lives near the Birkner and Harmony train stations, as well as another at a farmhouse. 125 injuries occurred.[24][27]
4 deaths – An intermittent, narrow tornado—possibly a family of up to three events—wrecked 16 or more barns and several stables, particularly in the Allentown–White Horse area. 15 injuries occurred.[27]
Late in the evening of May25,this extremely intense tornado touched down in eastern Michigan and moved northeast. It affected portions of Oakland and Lapeer counties northwest of Detroit. Communities affected included Whigville,Ortonville,Oakwood,and Thomas. Farms and homes were leveled or swept away,with whole families being killed. Debris was carried 12mi (19km) away,and trees were debarked,with even small twigs stripped bare in some cases,as if by "an experienced artisan". Fragments of a home in Thomas were dispersed up to 10mi (16km) away. A piano from that residence was found 200yd (180m) away from the foundation,with one end "pounded full of grass". Damage surveyors reported that grass in the center of the circulation was "pounded down into the earth,as if it had been washed into the earth by a heavy flow of water". 22or more people were killed in Ortonville,10in Oakwood,three in Thomas,four north of Oxford,and three in Whigville,along with others in rural areas. Nineof the dead were in a home at Ortonville. Up to sevencommunities reported deaths. At least 100people were injured. With 47deaths,this is the second-deadliest tornado ever in Michigan,trailing only the Flint–Beecher F5 of 1953,which killed 116in Genesee County just outside Flint.[29]
This violent and catastrophic tornado struck the Greater St. Louis area in both Missouri and Illinois, killing 255people, injuring at least 1,000more, and causing more than $10million in damages. It formed just northwest of Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, attended by strong downbursts. At least 137people died as the tornado traversed the core of the downtown area, leaving a continuous, 1-mile-wide (1.6km) swath of destroyed homes, schools, saloons, factories, mills, churches, parks, and railroad yards in its wake. Some of destroyed homes were all but completely swept away, but damage to trees and roofs in most areas was less severe. Numerous trees were downed at the 36-acre (0.15km2)Lafayette Park, and a barometer recorded a drop to 26.74inHg (906mb) at this location.
After devastating the city of St. Louis, the tornado crossed the Mississippi River and struck the Eads Bridge, where a 2in ×10in (51mm ×254mm) wooden plank was found driven through a 5⁄16in (7.9mm) wrought iron plate. Uncounted others may have died on boats on the river, which could have swept their bodies downriver where they could not be recorded in the official death toll. The tornado continued into East St. Louis, Illinois, where its path was narrower, but its strength became even more intense. Homes and buildings along the river were completely swept away and a quarter of the buildings there were damaged or destroyed, though many of the structures were frail. An additional 118people were killed, 35of whom were at the Vandalia railroad freight yards.[30]
↑An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[2]
↑Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[5] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[6] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[7]
12345The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[9][10] Tornado ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service.[11] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February1, 2007,[12] Canada used the old scale until April1, 2013;[13] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[14]
1234All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
1234The listed width values are primarily the average/mean width of the tornadoes, with those having known maximum widths denoted by ♯. From 1952 to 1994, reports largely list mean width whereas contemporary years list maximum width.[15] Values provided by Grazulis are the average width, with estimates being rounded down (i.e. 0.5mi (0.80km) is rounded down from 880 yards to 800 yards.[16][17]
↑Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
Grazulis, Thomas P.; Grazulis, Doris (1999). "Tornadoes in the Past". The Tornado Project. St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008.
Grazulis, Thomas P.; Grazulis, Doris (1999). "Tornadoes in the Past". The Tornado Project. St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008.
— (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN1-879362-03-1.
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