SPC Stats
Path length: 1.3 miles
Width: 200 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 2
Rating: F3
County: Washington
Nine 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. The Storm Prediction Center path length is recorded at 1.3 miles. That doesn’t appear to be correct. The Storm Data entry states a 6 mile path. Newspaper reports back up a longer path length. There were two injuries recorded but there could have been a few more.
The tornado developed about four miles south of Potosi in the Furnace Creek area. It moved to the ENE over State Highway 21 and U and passed just north of Hopewell. It ended 5.5 mile SE of Potosi. Four homes were destroyed and two others had significant damage. Twenty other homes had minor damage. Twenty-six outbuildings were destroyed and 21 others damaged.
Tornado Path
SPC coordinates: Start: 37.85 / -90.78 End: 37.88 / -90.73
Corrected Coordinates based on Storm Data:
37.876096/-90.780412 End: 37.911011/-90.680200
Note: Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.
Newspaper Clippings
Discrepancies:
We gathered information for this event from the SPC & NCDC Databases, the December 1966 Storm Data Publication and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and found the following differences:
Path Length:
- SPC/NCDC have a 1.3mile path length.
- Grazulis and Storm Data have a length at 6 miles.
Sources:
December 1966 Storm Data Publication
Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 1086.
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