Event Type : Tornado History

Seven tornadoes were confirmed on September 8, 1986. 4 of the 7 were in the state of Iowa and this strongest of the day was this F4 that travels through parts of Polk and Jasper Counties. The Storm Data entry states, “the devastation might have been much greater, but the storm missed hitting any towns.”

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There was one tornado on September 29, 1966: An estimated F3 that moved through parts of the Cleveland, OH area. 22 people had minor injuries. Approximately 248 structures were damaged or destroyed.

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Little remained of the home of Ervin Morris Sr. near Ivy, where ten members of one family perished. Photo from Phil James/Secrets of the Blue Ridge.

One of the most devastating tornadoes to ever hit the state of Virginia was spawned by Hurricane Gracie on September 30, 1959. The twister tracked through a part of Albemarle County west of Charlottesville and east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This summary provides a detailed analysis of discrepancies in the path and the number of tornadoes to hit this day. It also focuses on the tragedy near Ivy. In mere seconds, ten members of one family lost their lives.

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17 tornadoes are recorded in the SPC database for October 1, 1977. The strongest was a quick-hitting twister that hit in the Greater Cincinnati, OH area. The Storm Data entry states that this tornado had as many as three funnels.

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A total of 5 tornadoes were confirmed on October 2, 1969. We look at the strongest, an F2 that had a skipping path from near Vaughan, NC to Lake Gaston.

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Gene’s mangled boat. Image via Dave Clute.

It was Saturday morning, October 3, 1992. Many residents in Pinellas Park were quietly making their way through their Saturday chores or working on home projects. Retired couples were watching their favorite shows in their recliners or playing cards in the front rooms of their mobile homes. Little did they know that unexpected severe thunderstorms were about to erupt across their little corner of west-central Florida. Three tornadoes were produced in the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area that morning. Two of the twisters caused fatalities. This summary details the strongest and most deadly tornado to occur on this day.

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Aerial view looking west in the Settlers Circle neighborhood.

On October 3, 1979, a significant tornado hit without warning in Hartford County, CT.  This was one of the most destructive twisters to ever hit the state of Connecticut.

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The tornado near maximum width. Image courtesy of James Wilson.

This summary looks at a large, damaging tornado that hit portions of Wayne, NE on October 4, 2014. It reached peak intensity at the Wayne Municipal Airport.

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The SPC database shows two tornadoes on October 5, 1970. Both were in Oklahoma. The first was an F2 that crossed through Cleveland and Pottawatomie Counties. The second was a devastating F4. It had a skipping 25 mile path and began over Shawnee in Pottawatomie County.

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Ground level shot of the severe blowdown (NWS Flagstaff).

In today’s summary, we look at an outbreak of 11 tornadoes to hit parts of Arizona on October 6, 2010. This was the largest number of tornadoes to hit the state in a single day since records began in 1950. Two of the tornadoes were rated EF-3. 7 people were injured as over 100 homes were damaged or destroyed in Bellemont.

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A total of 9 tornadoes are found in the SPC Database for October 7, 1965. The strongest is listed as an F3 in Randolph County, NC. When I looked up this event in Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis, I immediately saw a difference. He has this event listed as an F1.

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Two tornadoes are found in the SPC database for October 8, 1958: An F2 in Illinois and the topic of our summary, an F3 that traveled through parts of Nodaway, Worth and Harrison Counties. This was a fairly long track tornado. SPC has a path of 23.1 miles. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes has a slightly longer path at 35 miles.

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Photo taken by a resident of Cordell at ~5:10 PM CDT on 10/09/2001 as this F3 tornado approached the town from the southwest.

The strongest tornado outbreak in Oklahoma for the month of October occurred on October 9, 2001. Per the NWS Norman, five supercells produce a total of 19 confirmed tornadoes. Three of these were given a rating of F3 and all 3 moved through a part of Washita County. In this summary, we look at F3 number two that hit near Cordell, OK.

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There have been 23 tornadoes confirmed on October 10 (1950-2017). All have a rating of F1 or F2. On October 10, 1992, an F2 moved a quick 2 miles through Columbus, MS. There were 16 injuries and no fatalities.

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In this summary, we look at an F3 that hit Franklin, IN on October 11, 1954. Per the Climatological Data National Summary (CDNS), this tornado had a skipping path of about 5 miles.

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One tornado is listed in the SPC Database for October 12, 1978. It was given a rating of F3 and traveled about 7 miles through parts of Columbiana County, OH. Damage occurred in the town of Winona.

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A strong upper level system and cold front moved through parts of the south. Damaging winds and isolated tornadoes formed along the squall line. A tornado developed just south of Highway 32 west of Ashdown, AR.

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Map in “Outstanding Storms” Section

A Funnel Feature by Guest Writer Nick Wilkes about the “controversial” tornadoes of October 14, 1986 in Virginia.

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It is the only F5/EF5 on record during the month of October: The October 14, 1966 Belmond, IA Tornado. Just minutes after the high school’s homecoming parade, this devastating twister demolished a large section of town. The total path was approximately 12 miles.

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Two tornadoes are found in the SPC Database on October 15, 1957. Both were rated F3. We look at one of these in this summary. It moved close to 38 miles through parts of South Central Louisiana.

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A total of 4 tornadoes were confirmed on October 16, 1998: 2 in Nebraska and 2 in Kansas. We look at one of the Kansas twisters. It was the strongest on this day, rated F3. The tornado began in eastern Trego County and quickly made it sway into Ellis County. It traveled northeastward through rural Ellis County before hitting the town of Yocemento.

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EF3 Damage. Metal electrical transmission tower bent over.

A total of 11 tornadoes were confirmed on October 17, 2012. All but two were in the state of Mississippi. The strongest of the day was given a rating of EF3 with maximum sustained winds of 140mph. It moved through parts of Scott and Newton Counties in Mississippi.

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16 tornadoes were confirmed across parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on October 18, 1990. One of the strongest was an F3 that quickly hit in Somerset County, NJ in Montgomery Township. The tornado developed along a squall line.

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Two Florida tornadoes were confirmed on October 19, 1958. An F1 in Sarasota County and a stronger F3 that moved 20+ miles through parts of Palm Beach and Martin Counties. It began from Pahokee to near Indiantown.

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This F2 had a skipping path of about 5 miles. Per Storm Data, it started in the extreme NE corner of Kingfisher County and moved into So Central Garfield County. The tornado mainly stayed in rural areas. At the beginning of the path, the tornado hit a farm 7 miles WSW of Marshall. A large barn “exploded”.

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The northeastern wall of the house ripped away. Photo via the Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT).

On October 21, 2021, a surprise outbreak of 19 tornadoes ripped across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. This summary delves into the most destructive tornado of the event, an EF2 that trekked through rural Washington County, PA. Two people were injured, and $7 million in damage occurred as several homes and farm buildings were damaged or destroyed.

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This summary look at one of 9 tornado that were confirmed in Oklahoma on October 21, 2017. Rating was EF1 and it caused damage at the Riverwind Casino and Hotel.

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The SPC Database lists 3 tornadoes on October 22, 1972. We look at one of those in this summary. It was given a rating of F3. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes believes the damage was more in the F2 range. That was just one discrepancy with this event.

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This tornado moved NE from 4 miles SW of Maryville, MO. It crossed through town and hit a depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps camp NE of town. There were 5 fatalities and 20 injuries.

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This F3 tracked 15 miles through parts of Colbert and Lawrence Counties in Alabama. There were 3 injuries. One injury occurred when Jesse McQuire was lifted out of his house and dropped 200 feet away INTO another house. The house he was dropped into was destroyed but a dozen eggs were found in the kitchen with nary a crack.

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This estimated F4 tornado moved ENE from 5 miles north of Luverne to Comer. Dozens of homes were destroyed in rural communities near the Crenshow/Pike County line.

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This summary looks back at an estimated F4 tornado from October 26, 1941. It crossed through parts of Ashley County, AR the town of Hamburg. Approximately 53 homes were destroyed. There were 15 fatalities.

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A quick-hitting F2 is the subject of this summary. It hit the Loyd Star Community in Lincoln County, MS.

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This tornado hit the south end of the Baytown tunnel at rush hour. A tunnel guard described the event, “It was just like a big vacuum cleaner.” At least a dozen cars were picked up at the end of the tunnel.

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A total of 15 are found in the SPC Database for October 29, 1956. Most occurred in Kansas and Nebraska. We look at one of the Kansas tornadoes in this summary. It was given a rating of F3 and traveled through parts of Russell, Lincoln and Mitchell Counties. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes stated it was a skipping path.

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14 tornadoes moved through parts of TX, OK and MO on October 30, 1979. We look at the Oklahoma tornado in this summary. It was given a rating of F3 and moved about 8 1/2 miles through parts of Carter County. The tornado developed near Newport and ended NNE of Woodford.

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The most well known cryptid is Bigfoot, sometimes called Sasquach. The above image comes from a video of the most infamous Bigfoot sighting, known as the Patterson-Gimlin Film. Photograph via Washington Secretary of State’s Office.

In this Funnel Feature, we are looking into the “twisted” side of twisters. And no we are not talking about toothpicks driven through a tree, or feathers being plucked off a chicken. This feature is going to delve into the realm of the unknown.

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A total of 7 tornadoes were confirmed across parts of Oklahoma and Kansas on Halloween of 1984. This summary focuses on a twister rated F1 that crossed through parts of Osage County, KS and near the town of Carbondale. This was an interesting event.

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This summary looks back at an estimated F3 tornado from November 1, 1922. It crossed through parts of Jasper County, MO and the town of Webb City. Per Thomas Grazulis, there were 15 injuries and 1 fatality.

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The SPC Database lists all tornado start times in CST. The tornado we are looking at today is officially found in the database under November 1 with a start time of 2345 CST. It officially occurred though on November 2 at 0045 EST. The NCDC database has the event on November 2. At the time, this was the strongest tornado to ever hit Volusia County (Information via NWS).

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16 tornadoes were confirmed on November 3, 1992. All but 1 in the state of Louisiana. The strongest for the day is the topic of this summary. It was an F3 that traveled 7 miles through parts of Bienville Parish. The town of Arcadia, population 3400 at the time, was the hardest hit.

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Thomas Grazulis documented 6 tornadoes that occurred on November 4, 1922. Looking at one of those twisters in this summary: An estimated F4 that moved through parts of Creek and Pawnee Counties in Oklahoma.

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This summary looks at one of 5 EF2 tornadoes that occurred on November 5, 2017. It moved almost 5 1/2 miles through parts of Mercer County, OH and the town of Celina..

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Tornado crossing back into Vanderburgh County, IN and the south side of Evansville. Eastbrook mobile home park is devastated.

During the early morning of November 6, 2005, a devastating tornado traveled just over 41 miles from near Smith Mills, KY through southern Evansville, IN northeast to near Gentryville, IN. The tornado crossed the Ohio River three times. A summary via NWS Paducah states that 25 were killed. It was the deadliest tornado to hit Indiana since 1974.

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The Pleasant Grove Baptist Church after the tornado (NWS Wilmington).

On November 7, 1995, an outbreak of 40 tornadoes affected the Southeast. 28 of these tornadoes occurred in the state of South Carolina. This summary looks at what is officially the strongest, an F4 that hit near the town of Marion. The F4 rating is based on a 150-200 pound church bell that was moved 400-yards. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes believes this an F2 tornado.

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It is considered one of the worst outbreaks to occur across Southeast Texas/Southwest Louisiana. At least 14 tornadoes hit this area on November 7, 1957. The Orange, TX F4 tornado is the topic of this summary. It was the strongest of the outbreak. 180 homes were destroyed. 115 of these were in the Riverside Housing Project. 9 ships and 3 barges were torn from their moorings.

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What I thought was going to be a rather straight-forward tornado event, has turned out to be a difficult one! There have been 2-F3 tornadoes that have occurred on November 8 on record. I chose one of these as the topic of this summary.

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Carroll County Damage

This summary looks at one of the 76 tornadoes that occurred in the Veteran’s Day Weekend Tornado Outbreak of November 9-11, 2002. Today’s summary explores the details of an F2 tornado in Tennessee. It tracked 10 miles through parts of Carroll County.

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This summary will focus in on the strongest tornado to occur in the Veterans Day Weekend Outbreak. It was the first killer tornado of November 10. This tornado developed in Van Wert County, OH and tracked 52.8 miles.

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It was the second tornado to hit in the matter of days across the Naples area. The first hit on November 9 and resulted in 2 fatalities and 17 injuries. Two days later, another estimated F2 began off Vanderbilt Beach as a waterspout. It moved into North Naples destroying 5 homes and damaging 12 others.

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A total of 14 tornadoes occurred on November 12, 2005. All but 2 were in the state of Iowa. The strongest is the topic of this summary. It was rated F3 and traveled from near Boxholm through Stratford. It ended 6 miles NNE of Stratford.

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This estimated F2 tornado hit the Glen Park suburb of Gary, IN. The path was very short, less than one mile. The width was 400 yards.

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This tornado (later rated F2) skipped its way approximately 50 miles through parts of Mason, Tazewell and McLean Counties in Illinois. The Climatological Data National Summary (CDNS) entry for this event is very limited on detail on the damage and this tornado is not included in Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis so damage reports came from area newspapers.

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The SPC Database lists this F2 in Pratt County, KS with a path length at 11.3 miles. Storm Data has a slightly longer length at 15 miles. Unfortunately not a lot of information to be found on this twister. Damage was around the Sawyer area. Could not find any mention of this in the newspapers and this tornado is not a part of Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis.

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This F1 tornado has a short path length of 2 miles with a width of 440 yards. Storm Data states this tornado developed 9 miles ENE of Freedom in Woods County, OK. A farmstead had a great deal of damage. The garage was demolished. Pieces of a toolshed and bard were “strewn over a wide area.”

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5 tornadoes were confirmed on November 14, 2007. The strongest was an EF2. It had a short path of 2 miles through parts of Marion County, TN. Kimball Baptist Church was holding Wednesday night services when the tornado hit.

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November 15, 1989 was a heartbreaking day for the city of Huntsville, AL. An F4 tornado hit the southern part of the city crossing through a busy business section and heavily populated residential area at the time of afternoon rush hour. Twenty-one people were killed, 18 died in the tornado and 3 other later from injuries. 57% of the deaths occurred in automobiles.

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A total of 17 tornadoes occurred on November 15, 1989. Five were in the state of Georgia. This summary looks at a tornado officially rated F3 that crossed through parts of Habersham County. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes gave this tornado an F2 rating.

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Per the SPC Database, a total of 44 tornadoes were confirmed on November 15, 1988. Three were rated F3 and per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, the tornado we are looking at in this summary should also have been rated F3. Officially though, it was given an F2 rating. It had a long, skipping path of 49 miles.

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Photo of the tornado via Tony Laubach

A total of 39 tornadoes were confirmed on November 16, 2015. They rolled through parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Three were rated EF3. We look at one of those in this summary.

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This long track tornado was one of 21 that occurred on November 16, 2011. It began in NE Macon County south of Notasulga and moved northeast. About a dozen mobile homes were damaged along County Road 54. The tornado moved into Lee County and traveled over 30 miles. There was significant damage in Auburn.

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34 tornadoes are a part of the SPC Database for November 17, 1958. Most were in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. We look at an Oklahoma tornado from this day in this summary. There is a huge discrepancy in the record on the path length. The SPC Database records a path length of 65.8 miles. The Climatological Data National Summary (CDNS) and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes only have a path length of 10 miles. The rest of the stats match.

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2:52 PM EST Velocity

A major tornado outbreak of 74 tornadoes occurred on November 17, 2013. There were two EF4s, both in Illinois. 7 tornadoes were reported EF3. The tornado in this summary was given a rating of EF2. It was unique as it had the largest tornado width reported during the outbreak and for November 17 (1950-2017): 1200 yards.

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Severe damage in the town of Washington, Illinois. Image taken during the NWS damage survey.

A major tornado outbreak occurred on November 13, 2013. In total, 74 tornadoes were produced, 7 were rated EF3 and 2 were rated EF4. This summary documents a significant tornado that devastated Washington, IL.

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This devastating tornado began on I-64 just over 4 miles SW of New Minden. A tractor-trailer was blown off the interstate and the driver had minor injuries. Per the NWS Storm Data summary, the worst damage was 2 miles west-southwest of New Minden. A farm took a direct hit and the damage was rated EF4. Only the foundation of the farm remained.

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There are 23 tornadoes recorded in the SPC Database for November 18, 1957. This Georgia twister had a very large width of 500 yards. It traveled 14.5 miles through parts of Chattooga County and damage was reported in the community of Gore.

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Not a lot on this event out of Alabama. Was an interesting event because it had such a long path.

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There were 4 tornadoes on November 18, 1985. The strongest was an F3 that moved through during the late evening through parts of Marion and Baxter Counties in Arkansas. It traveled a good 34 miles causing damage from the community of Ralph to Rea Valley to the SE part of Mountain Home to the north side of Norfolk Lake.

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A devastating F3 tornado tore through parts of McClain, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties in Oklahoma during the evening of November 19, 1973. The twister developed about a mile SSW of Blanchard and moved through the western portions of town. 31 homes, 2 businesses, and 2 church were destroyed.

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I chose this event because it hit within a large city, Detroit, MI. As I started delving into the data, I became even more intrigued because right of the bat there is a discrepancy in the rating. Officially, the SPC Database lists the rating of this tornado as an F3. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes believes the damage was more in the F1 range.

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This summary give an overview of one of the largest fall tornado outbreaks in the US. It occurred from November 21 through November 23 in 1992.

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F4 Damage along Heathfield Drive. Image via NWS from spacecityweather.com

The state of Texas had a total of 14 tornadoes during the massive November 21-23, 1992 tornado outbreak. 12 of the 14 where in the Houston County Warning area. This summary digs into the strongest that occurred in this area. It was an F4 that hit Channelview.

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This tornado developed in northeast Copiah County, MS, 1 mile north of Hopewell at 1127pm CST. It crossed through parts of 7 counties and ended 4 miles SW of Mathiston, MS in Choctaw County at 201am CST. Per the NWS Storm Data entry, the tornado reached maximum strength, F4 in the town of Brandon.

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There were 6-F4 tornadoes during the massive November 21-23, 1992 tornado outbreak. This summary looks at one of those out of Mississippi. This was an early morning tornado that traveled 40 miles through parts of Smith, Jasper and Newton Counties. It began SE of Mize and moved NE through the Sylvarena community. 90 homes were destroyed.

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During the widespread tornado outbreak of November 21-23, 1992, 11 tornadoes traveled through parts of Georgia. Two were rated F4. We look at one of those destructive tornadoes in this summary.

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The Widespread Outbreak of November 21-23, 1992 was still ongoing during the early AM of Monday, November 23. There were two F3 tornadoes reported in NC during this time. This summary looks at one of those that rolled through parts of Orange County.

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House destroyed on US Highway 231 at Morton Rd. The tornado was at F4 strength here.

A large tornado outbreak occurred on November 23 and 24, 2001. A total of 66 tornadoes across 8 states. 34 tornadoes occurred in the state of Alabama. We look at one of those in this summary. It was an F4 that moved 10.1 miles through parts of Blount and Etowah Counties. There were no fatalities and 22 injuries.

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There was one tornado on November 25, 1986. It was an F3 that had a long path of 44 miles through parts of Coffee, Dale and Barbour Counties in Alabama.

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A total of 12 tornadoes were confirmed on November 26, 2001. The strongest is the topic of this summary. It hit late in the night in Henry County, TN, southeast of Paris and moved northeast 5 miles ending near Oakland.

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18 tornadoes were confirmed across parts of the South on November 27, 1994. We look at one of the F3 tornadoes in this summary. It hit parts of Shelby and Fayette Counties in Tennessee and caused tremendous damage to the Germantown area.

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On November 27, 1994, 18 tornadoes were confirmed across parts of the South. Four were given an F3 rating. In this summary, we look at one of those F3s. It had a long track of 40 miles through parts of Simpson, Smith and Jasper Counties in Mississippi.

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A devastating F4 tornado made its way across 5 North Carolina counties on November 28, 1988. The tornado began at 1am EST in Umstead National Park in the NW part of Raleigh. It ended almost 2 hours later, two miles NW of Jackson in Northampton County. An 83 mile track that was almost continuous.

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There was one tornado confirmed on November 29, 1963. It was a small, quick-hitting twister that hit on a Friday afternoon just east of Stuart Draft, VA. A new house under construction was nearly leveled. Portions of the roof was carried 75 feet. Two other roofs of two others homes were torn away.

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A total of 22 tornadoes were confirmed on November 29, 2016. Over half were in the state of Alabama. This summary looks at a rather large twister with a max width of 1000 yards. It was rated EF2 and moved just under 10 miles from near Arley to Helicon in Winston County and ending 2.41 miles over the Cullman County line.

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Neel, AL: Steel beams from motorcycle repair shop blow downstream approx 300-400 yards into this house.

An outbreak of 39 tornadoes occurred November 29-30, 2016. There were 3 rated EF3 and we look at one of those that hit parts of Morgan County, AL in this summary. This tornado traveled just over 6 miles. It began along Danville Road, just east of the Lawrence County line and ended on the NE side of Herring Road.

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Just after midnight on November 30, 2016, an EF3 tornado crossed through parts of Jackson and DeKalb Counties in Alabama. This was one of 39, during a 2-day outbreak. There was significant damage in the towns of Rosalie and Ider. Sadly, 4 people were killed.

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Damage to Ocoee Post Office

This summary looks at a late night twister that moved through parts of Polk County, TN during the November 29-30, 2016 outbreak. It traveled 4.6 miles from just south of Ocoee to just south of Benton in Polk County. The estimated max wind speeds was 140 mph (EF-3).

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Intense damage along Houston Street in Hewittsville. Image from NWS Lincoln.

On December 1, 2018, a regional outbreak unfolded across Illinois, resulting in 29 total tornadoes in the late afternoon and evening hours. Of the twisters that occurred, one was rated EF3, with three more being rated EF2. This summary will focus on the EF3 tornado that struck Taylorville, IL, with the most intense damage being southwest of the city in the unincorporated community of Hewittsville.

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There was one tornado confirmed on December 1, 1953. It hit south of Seguin, TX. Per the Climatological Data National Summary (CDNS), 7 homes were destroyed and another 7 were damaged.

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This tornado moved 18 miles through parts of Saline and Pulaski Counties. It developed near Bryant and moved through Alexander to west Little rock to Crystal Hill. 86 mobile homes were destroyed in Saline County. 100+ homes in west Little Rock had extensive damage. There were 53 injuries and 2 fatalities.

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Two girls sleeping in beds in the upper left house were killed by a car which fell onto them.

13 tornadoes were recorded during the early morning hours of December 3, 1978. The strongest was an F4 tornado that developed at 1:50am CT in the Central Park area of Bossier City, LA.

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6 tornadoes are found in the SPC Database for December 4, 1956. Two were in Kansas (both given a rating of F)), the rest in the state of Missouri (all rated F2). We look at one of these Missouri tornadoes in this summary.

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There was one tornado confirmed on December 4, 1955. It quickly hit near Brownsville, SC (Marlboro County) around dusk. The official rating in the SPC Database is F2. Grazulis believes the damage was closer to F3 strength.

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‘They had always said Vicksburg would never have a tornado because of the river’ – Marie Renaud, survivor of the 1953 Vicksburg Tornado. Marie was interviewed by the NWS Jackson for the 60th anniversary of the tornado. She was 11 years old when the tornado hit. She, like many Vicksburg, MS residents believed that the river would protect them from a tornado. Unfortunately, on December 5, 1953, a destructive twister crossed over the Mighty Mississippi and directly hit the town of Vicksburg.

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One of the strongest tornadoes to ever hit in Southeastern Louisiana occurred on December 6, 1983. The tornado was rated F4 on the Fujita Scale. This damage was found at the Belle Pointe Subdivision. Several homes had their foundations swept clean. Per Storm Data, the tornado was not given an F5 rating, “because the walls were nailed to the foundation, not bolted.”

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During the early morning of December 6, 1983, an F3 tornado crossed through parts of Dallas County, AL in the Selma Area. It developed near Alabama Highway 22 west of Selma and moved northeastward for 13 miles. At least 103 structures were damaged/destroyed along the path.

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Cover of the December 1996 Storm Data Publication. It was in this mobile home that Gary Lee Davis was killed. The home was thrown 100 feet. The Storm Data caption notes: “There is no damage to the mobile home in the center of the photograph yet the twittered frame of the neighbor’s homes lies on a few yards away.”

This quick-hitting tornado developed about a mile east of Interstate 75 near Riverview, 12 miles SE of Tampa. It took 4 minutes for this tornado to travel 2 miles. Most of the damage was to the Cowley Cove mobile home complex.

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9 tornadoes were confirmed on December 8, 1966. All but two were in the state of Missouri. One that traveled through parts of Washington County was given a rating of F3.

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What was possibly a family of tornadoes traveled over 30 miles through parts of Daviess and Hancock Counties in Kentucky across the Ohio River into Perry County, Indiana. There were 3 injuries.

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Massive destruction across the town of Mayfield. Photo via FEMA/CAP.

Last year, many of us watched as storms tore apart lives and communities across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, and Kentucky. After events of this magnitude, images depicting seas of wreckage where homes and businesses once stood can blind us to the true nature of the loss at hand. Ranging from six days to 98 years of age, a total of 92 people lost their lives during the tornado event. They were cherished as friends or family by thousands. This article details the stories of every one of those people, as well as all of the 23 significant tornadoes that formed during this event.

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A total of 7 early AM tornadoes occurred across parts of the south on December 10, 1967. We look at one of those in this summary. It hit in the panhandle of Florida around Fort Walton Beach around 315 am. A total of 35 homes and 9 businesses were destroyed. Another 290 homes had some sort of damage.

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8 tornadoes are found in the SPC database for December 11, 1961. They occurred across 4 states in the south. We are looking at one given a rating of F3. It moved about 3 miles through the town of Jacksonville in Calhoun County. A good deal of the damage was at the Jacksonville State University.

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This summary looks back at an estimated F3 tornado from December 12, 1928. It crossed through parts of Angelina County, TX. Information for this event came from the following resources. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and Newspaper articles via newspapers.com

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A total of 6 tornadoes occurred on December 13, 1977 across portions of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. In this summary, we look at an F3 that hit in NE Harris and SW Liberty Counties in TX. Path length was 25 miles. Per Thomas Grazulis, the path ran parallel to and north of US-90.

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This summary looks at an F2 tornado with a long, skipping path through parts of SW Missouri on December 14, 1971. The tornado developed just south of Billings.

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Remains of a strip shopping center that had its windward wall pushed in. This part of the building housed a laundromat. (Image via NCDC Publication)

There was one tornado reported on January 28, 1956. It hit during the late evening in Faulkner County, AR. It moved to the northeast from the Wooster area to 1 mile south of Greenbriar. The Climatological Data Summary then states the tornado “went aloft for 10 miles, returning to the ground in Barney-Enola Area.”

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A total of 40 tornadoes are a part of the SPC Database, December 14-15, 1971. Most that occurred on the 15th were during the early AM hours. We look at one of those in this summary. It was given a rating of F2 and had an intermittent path of 22+ miles through from Bell City to Scott City in Missouri.

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24 tornadoes were confirmed on December 16, 2000. Half of those were in the state of Alabama including the strongest of the day. It was a devastating F4 that pushed 18 miles through Tuscaloosa County. 11 were killed and 144 injured.

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This summary looks back at an estimated F2 tornado from December 17, 1915. Per Thomas Grazulis, there were 5 injuries and 2 fatalities. Path was estimated at 6 miles.

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A total of 25 tornadoes occurred on December 17, 1957, all in Illinois or Missouri. Two were later rated F4 and 1 was given an F5 rating. In this summary, we look at an F4 that traveled close to 30 miles through parts of Jackson, Williamson and Franklin Counties in Illinois. Per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, the path followed closely to a section of the great Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925.

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The strongest tornado that occurred on December 19, 1957 was later rated F4. It moved through parts of Southern Arkansas from near Waldo and McNeil, northeast to near Stephens and ending NW of Buena Vista. The worst damage was near the beginning of the path.

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A quick-hitting F2 tornado moved through parts of southern Miami-Dade County on December 20, 1973. It was one of 2 tornadoes to strike the area. The other hit near Kendall and was later rated F1.

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An estimated F4 tornado moved through parts of Iron and Washington Counties in Missouri during the early AM of December 21, 1967. It began south of Viburnum. There were 3 fatalities.

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A total of 13 tornadoes were confirmed on December 22, 2011. The strongest hit parts of North Georgia. Path length of 11.42 miles. There were 4 injuries.

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EF-4 damage to two story house in Benton County, MS

31 tornadoes occurred on December 23, 2015. The strongest was rated EF-4. It had a long-track of just over 75 miles through parts of Northern MS into Southern TN.

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There has been two F4/EF4 tornadoes on Christmas Eve since records began in 1950. We look at one of those in this summary. This tornado began at 604am in the northwest part of Franklin, TN.

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EF-3 Damage in Pearl River County, MS

A total of 30 tornadoes occurred on Christmas Day of 2012. Two of the tornadoes were rated EF3 and we look at one of those that traveled through parts of Southern MS. It was a long-tracked twister. The SPC has a length of 60.34 miles.

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A very strong storm system produced 12 tornadoes across parts of North and Central Texas on December 26, 2015. The strongest that day was rated EF-4. There were 10 fatalities, 9 of which were in vehicles.

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Cover of the December 1997 Storm Data Publication with this caption: “A two-story home in Haines City is damaged by an F2 (Fujita Scale: Wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado on December 27, 1997. The tornado caused damage along a 5.8 mile path just east of Haines City, Florida. Notice the insulation can bee seen in the yard and in tree branches. (Photograph courtesy of Walk Zaleski, Warning Coordination Meterologist, National Weather Service, Ruskin, FL).”

Three tornadoes occurred on December 27, 1997 in the state of Florida. The strongest was given an F2 rating. It developed in the Lake Region Mobile Home Park along US Highway 27 and County Road 544 in Polk County. Several residents remarked that the tornado sounded like “a high-pitched whine”. Many mobile homes had major to severe damage.

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An estimated F3 tornado moved northeast through parts of Jones County and the town of Laurel during the evening of December 28, 1954. It had a path of about 10 miles per the Climatological Data National Summary (CDNS) and a width of 250 yards. 25 people were injured.

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A large winter outbreak occurred across the state of Texas on December 29, 2006. Officially, the SPC Database lists 27 tornadoes. The max rating was F2 and there were four tornadoes given that rating. We look at one of the F2 twisters in this summary.

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For the second day in a row, Fort Rucker, AL was hit by a tornado. The first occurred at 425pm CT on December 29, 1973. The second tornado which occurred just before 5pm CT on December 30, 1973 caused greater damage to Ft. Rucker than the one the day before.

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There were 28 tornadoes on New Year’s Eve of 2010. Four were in the state of Mississippi. The strongest for the state was given an EF-2 rating. That is the topic of this summary!

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The state of Missouri was hit by 17 tornadoes on December 31, 2010. Three were given a rating of EF-3. We look at one of those in this summary. It tracked 7.5 miles over Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County.

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Closer look at the embedded lawn chair. Image via NWS Jackson.

2011 was one of the most active tornado years on record and it started off with seven twisters that traveled through portions of Mississippi. One of the strongest, was given an EF3 rating. It tracked close to nine miles through Noxubee County.

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Sedan destroyed after being lifted and carried 170 yards. Another vehicle was carried 250 yards.

Five homes were destroyed. One home was moved 60 feet from its foundation. There were two vehicles thrown 250 yards. Several farm structures were damaged and many trees and power lines were brought down.

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This tornado developed 13 miles North of Downtown St. Louis in the Spanish Lake area. It moved across the Mississippi River into Illinois causing damage in the Hartford and Roxana areas.

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This was taken at 4:05 P.M., just one minute before the tornado touchdown. The radar is at its lowest elevation angle. Notice the apparent rotation just entering Owensboro from the southwest.

1200 homes and businesses sustained varying degrees of damage. 101 of the 1200 were totally destroyed and 573 sustained major damage. Heavy damage occurred to Apollo High School, Kentucky Wesleyan College and a Winn-Dixie. Numerous automobiles were tossed.

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It developed near Lydia causing minor damage to a few barns and trees. It moved northward at approximately 50 mph and strengthened. Max winds were estimated at 110 mph.

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Tornado damage to Leon and Bertie Ann Curenton’s home – Crestview, Florida. 1962. Black & white photonegative, 5 x 4 in. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/139034>, Accessed 3 January 2019.

The damage was caused by twin tornadoes. It was documented in the Storm Data Publication as “two tornado clouds, about 100 yards apart and each making paths about 100 yards wide.” They had parallel paths that moved to the northwest into a residential area in Crestview.

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20+ homes destroyed in the Alexandria/Pineville area with 50 more damaged. Several garages and roofs were blown away and four homes were shifted.

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