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Tornado outbreak of April 9, 1919

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On April 9, 1919, a tornado outbreak occurred in the Southern Great Plains of the US, producing numerous strong tornadoes and killing at least 92 people, mainly in portions of North and East Texas. The entire outbreak occurred overnight and produced at least seven intense, deadly tornadoes, the deadliest of which was a long-tracked, extremely violent F4 in East Texas that killed 24 people and injured 100 others. A separate F4 long-tracker in the same region killed 17 others and injured 60 more. A deadly F3 also claimed nine or more lives in southern Oklahoma, and a long-lived F3 in East Texas crossed into Arkansas, killing eight. Several of the tornadoes in this outbreak may have been families of two or more twisters.[nb 1][nb 2][nb 3]

Tornado outbreak of April 9, 1919
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationApril 9, 1919
Tornadoes
confirmed		12
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Fatalities≥ 92 deaths, 412 injuries
DamageUnknown
Areas affectedSouthern Great Plains
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Confirmed tornadoes

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Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 0 0 5 3 4 0 12

April 9 event

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Confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, April 9, 1919[nb 4][nb 5]
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F4 Blue Ridge to Ravenna Collin, Fannin TX 05:45–? 30 mi (48 km) 400 yd (370 m) 18 deaths, 60 injuries – This violent nocturnal tornado moved north-northeastward and due north at times, devastating such rural communities as Blue Ridge, Delba, Trenton, and Ector. Near Blue Ridge six of eight family members died. At Ector two boys died running from the tornado in a field. 25% of Ravenna was destroyed. In all, losses reached $200,000, and many small farmhouses were obliterated.[11][12]
F2 Canaan to E of Bells Grayson TX 06:30–? 5 mi (8.0 km) 100 yd (91 m) 2+ deaths, 20 injuries – This strong tornado wrecked a church, store, and 16 homes at Canaan. A 27-car freight train derailed, two cars of which were tossed 60 ft (20 yd). A third death may have occurred.[12]
F4 SE of Whitewright, TX to Yarnaby, OK Grayson (TX), Fannin (TX), Bryan (OK) TX, OK 06:45–? 25 mi (40 km) 300 yd (270 m) 8 deaths, 50 injuries – This violent tornado moved north-northeast, destroying or damaging 15 homes near Whitewright. In the area 10 people sustained serious injuries. The entire town of Mulberry sustained damage and seven deaths. Additional homes were destroyed in Oklahoma.[12]
F2 Albany Bryan OK 07:00–? Un­known Un­known 1 death, 3 injuries – One home was destroyed.[12]
F2 Mullin Mills TX 07:10–? 2 mi (3.2 km) 300 yd (270 m) 20 homes, a church, hotel, and bank were damaged. One person was injured and losses totaled $100,000.[12]
F3 SW of Roberta to NE of Durant Bryan OK 07:45–? 10 mi (16 km) Un­known 9+ deaths, 35 injuries – At least 12 homes were wrecked. Several of the injured may have died later.[13]
F2 Armstrong Bryan OK 08:00–? Un­known Un­known An oil tanker, school, water plant, and three homes were wrecked. Trees downstream were coated with oil. Five people were injured.[13]
F3 NW of Bromide to E of Stonewall Coal, Pontotoc OK 08:30–? 20 mi (32 km) 200 yd (180 m) 1 death, 4 injuries – This may have been a family of tornadoes. The most intense damage occurred near Jesse; in this area 14 homes were destroyed or damaged.[13]
F4 N of Eustace to SE of Grand Saline Henderson, Van Zandt TX 09:30–? 30 mi (48 km) 1,000 yd (910 m) 17 deaths, 60 injuries – This may have been a family of up to three distinct tornadoes. Extremely violent, it produced a 1+1⁄2-mile-wide (2.4 km) swath of destruction. Most of Canton was impacted. 13 of the deaths occurred between Tundra and Big Rock.[11][13]
F4 SE of Mineola to Blodgett Wood, Camp, Titus TX 10:15–? 50 mi (80 km) 600 yd (550 m) 24 deaths, 100 injuries – Rural communities were obliterated, along with numerous homes. A continuous, 1-mile-wide (1.6 km) swath of intense damage was reported. 11 of the deaths and 60 of the injuries occurred in Wood County. Losses totaled $450,000.[11][13]
F2 Oak Grove Red River, Bowie TX 11:00–? 10 mi (16 km) Un­known 4+ deaths, 15 injuries – At least six small homes were wrecked. Three more people may have later died from injuries.[13]
F3 NW of Texarkana, TX to N of Columbus, AR Bowie (TX), Little River (AR), Hempstead (AR), Howard (AR) TX, AR 13:15–? 30 mi (48 km) 400 yd (370 m) 8 deaths, 59 injuries – In Arkansas this intense tornado destroyed or damaged a pair of churches and 30 homes in the Ogden–Saratoga area. Barns were wrecked near the end of the path. Losses totaled $75,000.[13]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[1]
  2. ^ The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[2][3] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[4] Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013;[5] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[6]
  3. ^ Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[7] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[8] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[9]
  4. ^ All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
  5. ^ Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Schneider, Russell S.; Brooks, Harold E.; Schaefer, Joseph T. (2004). Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875–2003) (PDF). 22nd Conf. Severe Local Storms. Hyannis, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
  3. ^ Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
  4. ^ Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  5. ^ "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  6. ^ "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  7. ^ Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
  8. ^ Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  9. ^ Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
  10. ^ Brooks 2004, p. 310.
  11. ^ a b c Grazulis 1984, p. A-32.
  12. ^ a b c d e Grazulis 1993, p. 763.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Grazulis 1993, p. 764.

Sources

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