Portal:Tornadoes/Anniversaries/May

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May 1

  • 1875 – A major tornado outbreak hit parts of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, killing at least 58 people. The greatest loss of life was from an F3 tornado or tornado family that traveled 70 miles (110 km) across eastern Alabama and western Georgia, killing at least 22 people, including at least 13 (possibly as many as 26) on plantations in Talbot County, Georgia. Another tornado family killed at least 5 people, all in one family, in Chambers County, Alabama and another 10 in Troup and Meriwether Counties, Georgia.
  • 1933 – An F4 tornado sounding like "mad lions on a speeding train" devastated Minden, Louisiana, killing 28 people, injuring 400, and damaging or destroying about 500 homes. Six others were killed when another F4 tornado devastated Arcadia, Louisiana. An F2 tornado carried away and destroyed a small house near Magnolia, Arkansas, killing an entire family of six.

May 2

  • 1920 – An F4 tornado destroyed Peggs, Oklahoma, leaving only seven buildings standing. Of the population of 250 people, 71 were killed and 100 were injured. Because Peggs was not on a rail line, word of its destruction did not reach other towns for six hours.
  • 1929 – The second day of a significant tornado outbreak killed at least 33 people across the Eastern United States. Thirteen people were killed when an F2 tornado caused the collapse of a school near Rye Cove, northwest of Gate City, Virginia. An F3 tornado damaged or destroyed all eight homes in the tiny town of Weaversville, Virginia, killing four, possibly five people, and killed two others in Lagrange.

May 3

May 4

May 5

May 6

  • 1930 – A tornado outbreak killed at least 81 people across eastern Texas, most of them from two F4 tornadoes. The first destroyed the town of Frost, where at least 22 people died. Another 16 died on farms south of Bynum. At least 41 people were killed overall. The second major tornado killed 36 people, most of them tenant farmers in poorly-built homes near Kenedy, Runge, and Nordheim.
  • 1965 – Part of a larger tornado outbreak, four F4 tornadoes impacted the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area, killing 13 people.

May 7

  • 1840 – the second-deadliest tornado in U.S. history destroyed the central and northern parts of Natchez, Mississippi and nearby areas, killing at least 317 people. Most of the deaths were in boats on the Mississippi River, which was experiencing high traffic at the time. The death toll may have been much higher, as there were unverified reports that hundreds of slaves were killed in Louisiana. The deaths of slaves in the pre-Civil War United States were not always counted.
  • 1846 – A tornado devastated Grenada, Mississippi, killing at least 21 people. There were likely additional deaths later on as people succumbed to their injuries.

May 8

  • 1882 – Deadly tornadoes touched down across Oklahoma and Arkansas. An F4 tornado destroyed much of McAlester, Oklahoma, killing 21 people. An F2 tornado destroyed much of a plantation near Silver, Arkansas, killing two people and hundreds of livestock. Another nine deaths were from other tornadoes.
  • 1964 – A short-live but large and destructive F4 tornado struck the Anchor Bay area of Chester Township, Michigan, killing 11 people, injuring 224, and destroying 132 homes. Because of the high water table, few homes in the area had basements where people could take shelter, in spite of a 20-minute tornado warning.
  • 1965 – An F4 destroyed 90% if Primrose, Nebraska, killing four people. The body of a truck was carried or rolled 2 miles (3.2 km). An F5 tornado completely swept away farms near Colome, South Dakota, resulting in one injury but no fatalities.

May 9

May 10

  • 1907 – An F5 tornado destroyed much of Snyder, Oklahoma with many homes completely swept away, killing 97 people, including 10 on farms outside of town. Residents did not take shelter because they mistook the approaching tornado for a hail storm.
  • 1933 – An F4 tornado, forming just after midnight, destroyed every home in Beatty Swamps near Livingston, Tennessee, with much of the community swept clean, killing 35 people. Nearly everyone in town was killed or injured.
  • 2008 – A long-track EF4 tornado killed 21 people and injured 350 as it traveled 75 miles (121 km) across northeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Missouri. Eight people were killed and 150 were injured in Picher, Oklahoma, where about 200 homes were destroyed. Following the tornado and problems created by nearby mines, Picher was abandoned. Another 14 died in Jasper County, Missouri, most of them in cars and mobile homes near Racine.

May 11

  • 1953 – An F5 tornado, obscured by heavy rain, leveled a potion of Waco, Texas and killed 114 people, including 30 in a six-story building that collapsed in downtown Waco. This was one of the first tornadoes to be matched with a hook echo by weather radar, but no warning was communicated to residents.
  • 1970 – An F5 tornado killed 26 people and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and apartment units in Lubbock, Texas. Ted Fujita led a detailed study of the damage from this tornado, using it to develop the levels of the Fujita scale and improve the understanding of multiple vortex tornadoes.

May 12

May 13

  • 1908 – An F4 tornado killed 49 people as it devastated of Gilliam, Bolinger, and Belcher. Only two homes remained standing in Gilliam, where 34 people died. Nine were killed on the south side of Bolinger and six died in one family near Belcher.
  • 1980 – An F3 tornado moved through downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, killing 5 people, injuring 79, and leaving 1,200 homeless.
  • 1996 – A tornado struck the Jamalpur and Tangail Districts of Bangladesh, killing an estimated 700 people.

May 14

  • 1886 – A tornado outbreak impacted the Midwestern United States. An F4 tornado, destroyed farm homes near Portland, Indiana before crossing into Ohio, where it killed six people, most of them on farms near Celina. An F3 tornado, described as "an immense balloon moving at 80 mph," killed 11 people as it struck Dunkirk and Cary, Ohio.
  • 1923 – An F5 tornado obliterated farms, including a large ranch house, across Howard and Mitchell Counties, Texas, killing 23 people and injuring 250.

May 15

  • 1896 – A tornado, nearing the end of its track, narrowed and intensified to F5 strength, carving a 60-yard-wide path of complete destruction through Sherman, Texas. Even though only a small part of town was affected, 60 people were killed with up to 7 deaths in a single family. Another 13 people were killed on farms outside of Sherman.
  • 1968 – A large tornado outbreak affected the central and southern United States, killing 72 people. An F4 tornado destroyed 164 homes in Jonesboro, Arkansas, resulting in 35 deaths and 361 injuries. Two F5 tornadoes touched down in Iowa. One devastated Charles City, killing 13 people, injuring 450, and damaging or destroying nearly 2,000 homes. The other struck Oelwein, where it killed 5 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 1,000 homes.

May 16

  • 1999 – An F3 tornado destroyed several homes and a bridge near Logan, Iowa. Two people, out of a family of five taking cover in a ditch, were killed when their car and a combine header were blown on top of them.
  • 2017 – The most destructive day of an outbreak sequence brought several strong tornadoes to the Central United States. An EF3 tornado traveled 83 miles (134 km) across parts of Wisconsin, the longest single tornado track in state history, and devastated a trailer park near Chetek, killing one person and injuring 25. An EF2 tornado killed one person near Carter, Oklahoma.

May 17

May 18

  • 1883 – A tornado outbreak killed 64 people across the Central United States with the worst impacts in Illinois. Eight people died in Racine, Wisconsin where homes were "ground to pieces" by an F4 tornado. Eight more were killed when another F4 tornado destroyed Greasy Prairie, Illinois. A "balloon-shaped" F4 tornado carved a path through Springfield, Illinois and leveled numerous farms, killing 11 people. Another 12 were killed by a tornado that damaged or destroyed all of Literberry, Illinois.
  • 1898 – A tornado outbreak left 55 people dead in the Midwestern United States. An F4 tornado or tornado family killed 28 people across western Iowa and eastern Illinois along with hundreds of livestock. A massive F5 tornado killed 12 people in Marathon County, Wisconsin.
  • 1902 – An F4 tornado cut a devastating path through Goliad, Texas, obliterating 100 buildings and killing 114 people. More than a quarter of the town's population was killed or injured. Many of the deaths in the aftermath were due to tetanus.

May 19

May 20

May 21

  • 1918 – A major tornado outbreak impacted Iowa and Wisconsin, killing 27 people. An F4 (possibly F5) tornado devastated Boone, Iowa and completely swept away two farms, killing nine people. Another F4 tornado destroyed most of Lone Rock, Wisconsin, killing four people there, and four more on farms. An F5 tornado killed four people as it destroyed at least 20 farms between Densison and Adaza, Iowa.
  • 1949 – A tornado outbreak, continuing from the previous day, killed 51 people across the Midwestern United States. An F4 tornado destroyed more than 200 homes in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, killing 23 people and injuring 130. Another F4 tornado devastated Shelburn, Indiana, killing 14 people, injuring 251, and destroying 160 homes.

May 22

  • 1987 – A short-lived but devastating F4 tornado destroyed 85% of Saragosa, Texas, killing 30 people, including 22 in building where a Head Start graduation was about to take place. Many of the dead were parents or grandparents who died shielding the children from debris.
  • 2004 – An F4 tornado caused major damage in and near Wilber and Hallam, Nebraska, killing one person and injuring 28. At one point the tornado was 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide, making it, at the time, the widest tornado ever recorded. This record was later surpassed by the 2.6-mile (4.2 km)-wide 2013 El Reno tornado.
  • 2011 – A catastrophic EF5 tornado devastated the southern portions of Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and injuring 1,150. It was the deadliest tornado to hit the United States since 1947 and the costliest in U.S. history with $2.8 billion in damage.

May 23

May 24

  • 1973 – A highly-visible F4 tornado hit Union City, Oklahoma, killing two people. This was one of the intensely studied tornadoes in scientific history. For the first time, Doppler weather radar detected the circulation of the tornado before it touched down, a significant advancement in tornado forecasting. This was also the first time that scientists had documented the entire life cycle of a tornado in detail.
  • 2011 – An extremely intense EF5 tornado passed near El Reno and Piedmont, Oklahoma, killing nine people and injuring 181. Mobile Doppler radar recorded wind speeds of up to 295 miles per hour (475 km/h). A tanker truck was thrown a mile (1.6 km) and a 1.9-million-pound (860,000 kg) oil rig was rolled three times. Two high-end EF4 tornadoes passed near Blanchard and Washington, Oklahoma. The Blanchard tornado may also have reached EF5 intensity.

May 25

  • 1896 – An F5 tornado killed 47 people as it devastated areas in and near Ortonville, Oakwood, and Thomas, Michigan. Entire families were killed, including nine people in one home in Ortonville. Trees were stripped of bark "even to the twigs" and debris was carried up to 12 miles (19 km). Other tornadoes killed 10 people across Illinois and Michigan.
  • 1955 – Part of a larger outbreak, a single supercell spawned two F5 tornadoes in succession. The first destroyed 400 homes, many of which were swept away, in Blackwell, Oklahoma, killing 20 people and injuring 280. The second, the deadliest tornado in Kansas history, destroyed the southern half of Udall, killing 80 people and injuring 270, accounting for more than half the town's population. The death toll included five children in a farmhouse near Oxford, Kansas. An F4 tornado killed two people near Cheyenne, Oklahoma.
  • 2008 – The second tornado to be rated EF5 on the new Enhanced Fujita scale tore through Parkersburg and New Hartford, Iowa, killing nine people and injuring 70. Debris from homes was granulated to the size of coins.

May 26

  • 1917 – One of the deadliest events of a larger outbreak sequence, a catastrophic tornado family moved across parts of Illinois and Indiana. It was previously cited as the longest recorded track of a single tornado at 293 miles (472 km). The deadliest member of this family, which itself may have been three or more tornadoes, killed 101 people and injured more than 600. The tornado destroyed almost every building in northern Mattoon, Illinois, where 53 people were killed, and another 38 died in the devastation of Charleston.
  • 1924 – A significant tornado outbreak resulted in 38 deaths across Mississippi and Alabama, with multiple deaths in several families. One tornado family killed nine people in Collins, Mississippi and Brewer, Mississippi, including seven in one home. An F3 tornado killed ten people near Bay Springs and Increase, Mississippi, including another 7 in one family. An brief but devastating F3 tornado killed eight people in a poorly-built home near Elkmont, Alabama, all in one family. Deadly tornadoes continued into the early morning of May 27 with another 15 deaths. Eleven of these deaths, eight of which were in one family, were from an F3 tornado that hit small communities near Empire, Alabama.

May 27

  • 1896 – An F4 tornado devastated portions of St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people, the third-highest death toll of any U.S. tornado. The deaths of some victims may not have been recorded as their bodies were washed down the Mississippi River. Other tornadoes on this day killed a total of 50 people.
  • 1997 – A slow-moving F5 tornado obliterated the Double Creek Estates subdivision in Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people. The event is notable for the extreme damage it inflicted: homes were swept away with debris reduced to small pieces, 525 ft (160 m) sections of asphalt were peeled from roads, and up to 18 in (46 cm) of soil was removed in places.

May 28

  • 1880 – A short-lived F4 tornado, described as "a funnel blazing with balls of fire," touched town in Savoy, Texas and rapidly intensified, leveling the business district and the northeastern part of town. Thirteen people were killed in Savoy, and one other was killed just outside of town. The body of a child was reportedly carried half a mile (0.8 km).

May 29

May 30

  • 1879 – A major tornado outbreak hit the Midwestern United States, with the worst effects in Kansas, killing at least 36 people. The event was studied extensively by John Park Finley. The greatest loss of life was from a long-track tornado family that killed 18 people on a track from near Randolph, Kansas to Dawson Mills in Richardson County, Nebraska, including nine people in the devastation of Irving, Kansas and five on farms near Frankfort, Kansas. A second tornado, estimated at F2 strength, struck Irving, killing five people.
  • 1909 – An F4 tornado carved a 50-yard-wide path of destruction through Zephyr, Texas, killing at least 34 people. Twenty-eight homes, six businesses, two churches, and a school were destroyed, with many homes swept away. The death toll was likely higher, as many people were critically injured when the death toll of 34 was reported.
  • 1917 – A major tornado outbreak struck Missouri with lesser effects in Illinois, killing at least 65 people. A pair of intense tornadoes on parallel paths killed 26 people across Carter, Butler, Wayne, and Bollinger Counties. The stronger of the two, rated F4, killed 18 people in the devastation of Dongola and Zalma. The other, estimated at F3 strength, killed eight people on two farms near Chaonia.

May 31

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