Tornadoes of 1987

An F4 tornado touched down near Moselle, Mississippi and grew to a width of 2 miles (3.2 km) as it passed near Laurel. The tornado traveled a distance of 40 miles (64 km) killing six people, injuring 350 others, and causing $28.5 million in damages.

A small tornado outbreak occurred in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. Including a quarter-mile wide F3 tornado in Lipscomb County, Texas, which narrowly missed the communities of Locust Grove and Lipscomb.

On the evening of May 22, a short-lived but powerful F4 tornado struck Saragosa, Texas killing 30 people and injuring over 100. Many were killed attending a graduation ceremony for pre-school children at the Catholic Hall of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. 80% of the residential area was reported as destroyed.[3]

A tornado outbreak occurred in Texas, including two F3 tornadoes. The first F3 touched down in Hansford County, Texas, just south of the community of Gruver, where it damaged outbuilding and trees, before it went onto damage a hangar at Gruver Municipal Airport.[4] The second F3 touched down in Ochiltree County, where it had a brief but damaging path, with a max width of 0.4 miles wide, the tornado afflicted damage in Waka, due to missile-like debris.[5]

A tornado in Idaho caused 3 injuries, the highest number of tornado related injuries for the state.[6]

A tornado hit the city of Białystok, the largest city in northeastern Poland, and destroyed 100 homes.[7]

An F2 tornado hit Casper, Wyoming and caused $250,000 in damage, making it the most destructive tornado to hit the city.[8]

A tornado touched down in Denver, Colorado, just to the northeast of Stapleton Airport. It did not do any serious damage as it missed the airport and stayed in nearby fields.

A tornado outbreak occurred on July 11, mainly effecting the states of Minnesota, and Michigan, primarily the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The main attraction of the event touched down in Dickinson County, which was rated F3, it maintained a consistent damage path through the wilderness near Vulcan, blocking roads, and destroying a fire building. After crossing into Menominee County, the tornado damaged outbuildings and a house in an isolated location was destroyed in northern Menominee County. The tornado then moved into Delta County, where it continued to chew through trees. The tornado then entered a farming area, where it was seen by at least 15 people, some of which described it "like a thousand tires stacked up, burning and smoking." In that area a large barn was moved off its foundation, and the tornado continued into a wooded area, where it dissipated.[9]

A rare high-altitude tornado struck Wyoming, uprooting over one million trees along its 24-mile path. The tornado was rated F4, and is among the most violent high-altitude tornadoes ever recorded.

A landspout tornado struck Twentynine Palms, California with no serious damage. It was caught on film.

In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada an F4 tornado remained on the ground for an hour, cutting a swath of destruction 30.8 kilometres (19.1 mi) long and up to a 1,300 metres (0.81 mi) wide in places. The tornado killed 27 people and injured over 300 more.

An outbreak of tornadoes occurred in northeastern China, including an estimated F4 that hit Keshan County, Heilongjiang.[10]

A weak tornado struck north of Kennebec, South Dakota with minimal to no damage. It was caught on film.

A large outbreak struck the Ark-La-Tex region, spawning 50 tornadoes (four rated as high as F3). There were 11 fatalities, 10 of which were in Texas.

An F3 tornado struck West Memphis, Arkansas,[11] before crossing the Mississippi River into Tennessee, causing 21 injuries in the Northhaven housing complex.[12] In total this storm caused 6 fatalities and 121 injuries.