- May 1968 tornado outbreak
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May 1968 tornado outbreak An F5 tornado near Charles City, Iowa on May 15, 1968
Date of tornado outbreak: May 15 - 16 1968 Duration1: ~30 hours Maximum rated tornado2: F5 tornado Tornadoes caused: 46 confirmed Damages: >$52.5 million Fatalities: 72 Areas affected: Midwest and Southern United States 1Time from first tornado to last tornado
2Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita ScaleThe May 1968 tornado outbreak was a significant and deadly tornado outbreak that struck most of the central and southern United States on May 15- May 16, 1968. Producing 46 tornadoes, the outbreak killed at least 72 people including 45 in Arkansas alone. The outbreak also produced two F5s in Iowa. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in the United States since the 1960s and is one of the deadliest outbreaks in Arkansas history.
Contents
Outbreak description
Severe weather activity started during the afternoon of May 15 as a low pressure system crossed the area. The first tornado touchdowns were across the Midwestern States including the two Iowa F5s that hit central and eastern parts of the state about 45 minutes apart during the late afternoon. Both tornadoes killed 18 in total. The first F5 tornado moved through five counties and 65 miles (105 km). It affected the town of Charles City just before 5 PM destroying much of the area. Damage figures were pegged at $30 million in Charles City alone while $1.5 million of damage was recorded elsewhere. This tornado killed 13 and injured 462 others. The second F5 tornado affected Fayette County and damaged or destroyed nearly 1000 homes. The hardest hit areas were Oelwein and Maynard where homes were completely swept away from their foundations. Five people were killed while 156 others were injured. Damage was estimated at $21 million. These were two of four F5 tornadoes across the country in 1968, the others being in southeastern Ohio on April 23 and in southwestern Minnesota on June 13. The next and last official F5 tornado in Iowa took place in Jordan in 1976.[1][2]
Outbreak death toll State Total County County
totalArkansas 45 Baxter 3 Craighead 34 Independence 7 Jackson 1 Illinois 8 De Witt 4 St. Clair 4 Indiana 1 Wabash 1 Iowa 18 Fayette 5 Floyd 13 Totals 72 All deaths were tornado-related After the first tornadoes struck the Northern Plains, activity developed further south during the evening hours including several deadly tornadoes in Arkansas. One of the tornadoes touched down west of Jonesboro before hitting the Craighead County city itself at around 10 PM CDT. The tornado caught most residents by surprise since most of the warning systems failed and killed at least 34.[3] One more person was killed in neighboring Jackson County. The tornado was the deadliest in Arkansas since an F4 tornado that affected White County on March 21, 1952 killing 50.[4][5]
The same city was hit by another destructive tornado five years later killing at least three and injuring 250 others while leaving much more destruction throughout the city then the 1968 event. The damage figures were about $62 million in 1973 dollars. [1]. Another F4 tornado just to the west of Jonesboro killed 7 in Oil Trough in Independence County and 3 others were killed in Baxter County.[6]
The activity ceased across the Deep South when the final tornadoes of the first part of the outbreak touched down across the Metropolitan Memphis area and northern Mississippi as well as in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area. A smaller tornado outbreak from the same system took place across Oklahoma and Texas during the following day where seven tornadoes touched down including an F3 in Wilbarger County, Texas.
In addition to the 45 fatalities in Arkansas and 18 in Iowa, the outbreak killed eight in Illinois and one in Indiana.
Tornado table
Confirmed
TotalConfirmed
F0Confirmed
F1Confirmed
F2Confirmed
F3Confirmed
F4Confirmed
F546 5 20 10 7 2 2 Confirmed tornadoes
May 15 event
List of confirmed tornadoes F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage Minnesota F2 NW of Northfield to S of New Trier Rice, Dakota 2028 15.4 miles
(24.6 km)F0 NW of Hutton Freeborn 2200 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F1 SW of Dodge Center Dodge 2207 7.8 miles
(12.5 km)F1 W of West Concord Steele, Dodge 2240 16.6 miles
(26.6 km)F1 W of Newburg Fillmore 2345 8.4 miles
(13.4 km)Illinois F3 E of Easton to SW of Emden Mason, Logan 2030 12.6 miles
(20.2 km)F1 S of Waynesville to S of Farmer City De Witt 2200 25.4 miles
(40.6 km)4 deaths F3 E of Milford Iroquois 2350 7.1 miles
(11.4 km)F3 SE of Freeburg St. Clair 0245 2 miles
(3.2 km)4 deaths Kansas F3 NE of Louisburg, KS Miami, KS, Cass, MO 2045 2.7 miles
(4.3 km)Iowa F5 NE of Hampton to SE of Chester Franklin, Butler, Floyd, Chickasaw, Howard 2110 62.1 miles
(99.4 km)13 deaths In Charles City, 13 people died, 450 were injured, and $30 million damage occurred. 372 homes were destroyed, 188 sustained major damage, and 356 sustained minor. A new housing project was leveled. 58 businesses were destroyed, 90 sustained major damage, and 46 sustained minor damage. A department store was flattened and the downtown Main St. was heavily damaged. All 8 churches and 3 of the city schools were damaged or destroyed. All the bars were spared. The police station was heavily damaged. 1250 vehicles were destroyed. In Elma, nearly $1.5 million damage occurred. Five homes and 20 cars were demolished and the Roman Catholic Church was unroofed. Along the path, 13 people were killed, 462 injured, and $31.5 million damage occurred inflated to $195.57 million damage. F5 Oelwein to W of Fayette Fayette 2157 13.1 miles
(21 km)5 deaths F1 W of Jackson Junction Fayette 2158 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)F1 Audubon area Audubon 2245 2 miles
(3.2 km)F2 S of Vernon Springs Howard 2315 4.7 miles
(7.5 km)Missouri F2 W of Pittsville Johnson 2130 5.2 miles
(8.3 km)F1 NW of Richmond Ray 2145 3.6 miles
(5.8 km)F2 Fayetteville to Concordia Johnson, Lafayette 2200 12.3 miles
(19.7 km)F1 S of Blackburn Lafayette, Saline 2200 4.9 miles
(7.8 km)F1 S of Alba Jasper 2300 2.5 miles
(4 km)F1 W of Hillsboro Jefferson 0140 5.9 miles
(9.4 km)F2 SW of Neelyville Butler 0250 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)F1 S of Campbell Dunklin 0320 1.5 miles
(2.4 km)Indiana F2 Mooresville area Hendricks, Morgan 2145 8.8 miles
(14.1 km)F2 N of West Lafayette Tippecanoe 0351 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F2 N of Beard Clinton 0430 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F3 S of Wabash to E of Fort Wayne Wabash, Huntington, Allen 0602 50.3 miles
(80.5 km)1 death Ohio F1 SE of Wooster Wayne 2315 1 miles
(1.6 km)F2 Dalton area Wayne 0000 1 miles
(1.6 km)Arkansas F3 NE of Mountain Home Baxter 0030 7.3 miles
(11.7 km)3 deaths F1 NE of Viola Fulton 0115 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F4 N of Oil Trough Independence 0236 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)7 deaths F4 E of Tuckerman to SW of Blytheville Jackson, Craighead, Mississippi 0245 20.9 miles
(33.4 km)35 deaths Tennessee F1 Memphis area (southeast) Shelby 0520 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F1 Germantown area Shelby 0715 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F1 SW of Dixonville Shelby 0750 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)Mississippi F2 SW of Lewisburg DeSoto 0620 5.2 miles
(8.3 km)F1 E of Bowman Tate 0640 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F1 NW of Taska Marshall 0730 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)Source: May 16 event
List of confirmed tornadoes F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage Oklahoma F0 SE of Wilson Carter 2015 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F0 NW of Overbrook Love 2115 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F0 NW of Taylor Cotton, Stephens 2143 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F1 W of Marietta Love 2345 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F0 NE of Asphaltum Jefferson 0000 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)Texas F1 NW of Bellevue Clay 2015 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)F3 SW of Vernon Wilbarger 2110 2 miles
(3.2 km)Source: Tornado History Project Storm Data - May 16, 1968 See also
References
External links
Categories:- F5 tornadoes
- Tornadoes of 1968
- Tornadoes in Arkansas
- Tornadoes in Illinois
- Tornadoes in Indiana
- Tornadoes in Iowa
- Tornadoes in Minnesota
- 1968 in the United States
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