SPC Stats
Path length: 0.1 miles
Width: 10 yards
Fatalities: 2
Injuries: 9
Rating: F2
County: Pima
August 27, 1964: The first tornado on record in Arizona to cause fatalities. It was a quick-hitting tornado later rated F2. It hit an Indian Settlement near the San Xavier Mission about 4 miles from Tucson. The Storm Data entry had no path length or width listed. Thomas Grazulis states the tornado “moved erratically N, then W, then N again.” An article in the Arizona Daily Star mentioned a 3 1/4 mile path.
Mrs. Lucy Norris and her 9-month-old son, Marcian were killed. They were crushed by a pile of adobe bricks. Four dwellings were demolished and there was damage to the convent of the nuns of St. Francis.
Tornado Path
Click Map To Enlarge
SPC coordinates: Start: 32.20 / 111.02
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 August 1964 Storm Data Publication and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and found the following differences:
Path Length:
- SPC has 0.1 path length.
- NCDC has a path length of zero.
- Grazulis and Storm Data have no path length listed.
Width:
- SPC has a 10 yard width.
- NCDC has a 33 yard width.
- Grazulis and Storm Data have no width listed.
Sources:
August 1964 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 1056.
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