On This Day: May 4

Tornado Talk Summary

Per the Storm Prediction Center, 7 tornadoes occurred on May 4, 1950. The strongest was an F4 that tracked over 30 miles through parts of Pawnee and Barton Counties in KS. The max width was 150 yards. There were 30 injuries reported. Read the full summary here

SIGTOR Spotlight

Highlighting a Tornado Before 1950
from Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis!

May 4, 1761: Grazulis documents a tornado appearing as “a stupendous thick black pillar of clouds” about 20 miles NW of Charleston, SC, near Stonto. “Four people were killed as buildings were destroyed on plantations.” The twister moved across the Ashley River and “seemed to impel the water to a mountainous wave about 12 feet high.” A fleet of 40 sailing ships that were anchored were destroyed and sunk killing four people.

Twister From The 2000s

On this day in 2003, an F4 tornado tracked 21 miles through the Kansas City Metro. Two people were killed, and 30 were injured as many homes were damaged or destroyed. Source. 

Photo of the tornado, via NWS Kansas City.

Weather Rewind

Tornado and Other Weather Events From On This Day

On this day in 1922, two tornadoes moved across Austin, TX. One was rated F2, the other F4; 12 people were killed, and over 50 others were injured. Source

The F2 tornado as it was visible near Downtown Austin. Photo via Lon Curtis.

Pieces of the Past

A Look Back Through The Ages!  On This Day In History! 

Sources:  onthisday.com, thisdayinmusic.com & Britannica

Historical Event

On this day in 1471: Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York: Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster killed and King Edward IV restored to his throne. Re-restores political stability to England until his death in 1483. Check out more historical events at onthisday.com

Famous Birthday

Julia Tyler was born on May 4, 1820, in Gardiners Island, New York. She was the first lady (June 26, 1844–March 4, 1845), the wife of John Tyler, 10th president of the United States. For eight months she presided over the White House with charming exuberance. Tyler died in 1889. Source:  Britannica

Film & TV

On this day in 2008: Seth MacFarlane reaches an agreement worth $100 million with Fox to keep “Family Guy” and “American Dad” on television until 2012, making MacFarlane the world’s highest paid television writer. Get more daily history at onthisday.com

Music Trivia

On this day in 1974: ABBA were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Waterloo’, the group’s first of nine UK No.1 singles was the 1974 Eurovision song contest winner for Sweden. The song was first called ‘Honey Pie’..  Get into the groove with more music trivia at thisdayinmusic.com

Radar of the Day

An extremely large and likely violent tornado plows through open farmland near the town of Trousdale, Kansas during the evening of May 4, 2007. This tornado produced high-end EF3 damage to farms, trees, machinery, pivot sprinklers and power lines. One combine was thrown 1/4 of a mile and disintegrated upon impact. This tornado was 2.2 miles wide, making it one of the largest tornadoes on record in the United States. Radar snapshot from GRAnalyst, courtesy of Gio Rizzotti.

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