Tornado outbreak of April 1945
The tornado outbreak of April 1945 occurred on April 12, 1945, in the Midwestern United States, producing numerous strong tornadoes and killing at least 118 people; however, the concurrent death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt overshadowed news of the outbreak.[1]
| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | April 12, 1945 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | ≥ 17 |
| Max. rating1 | F5 tornado |
| Fatalities | ≥ 118 deaths, ≥ 1,002 injuries |
| Damage | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Midwestern United States |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
Confirmed tornadoes
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | ≥ 17 |
April 12 event
| F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Start coord. |
Date | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max width | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F4 | SE of Oklahoma City to Choctaw | Oklahoma | OK | N/A | April 12 | 2125 | 20 miles (32 km) | N/A | 8 deaths – Started near Cleveland county line. Destroyed over 160 homes in communities of Valley Brook, Del City, and Choctaw. Most fatalities were family members of military personnel at Tinker Air Force Base. There were 200 injuries.[1] |
| F3 | SE of Wilburton to NE of Red Oak | Latimer | OK | N/A | April 12 | 2215 | 12 miles (19 km) | N/A | 3 death – Hit community of Boggy. Three children died when a home was destroyed. There were 15 injuries.[1] |
| F3 | Roland to N of Dora, AR | Sequoyah (OK), Crawford (AR) | OK, AR | N/A | April 12 | 2230 | 20 miles (32 km) | N/A | 7 deaths – Five deaths in Oklahoma, two in Arkansas. There were 40 injuries. |
| F4 | Muskogee | Muskogee | OK | N/A | April 12 | 2250 | 3 miles (4.8 km) | N/A | 13 deaths – Violent tornado damaged many buildings on the eastern edge of Muskogee, including a school for the blind, killing thirteen on campus. There were 200 injuries.[1] |
| F2 | Hulbert | Cherokee | OK | N/A | April 12 | 2300 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | N/A | 4 deaths, 8 injuries – Short-lived but very damaging tornado destroyed eighty-one buildings in Hulbert |
| F5 | SW of Antlers to SW of Nashoba | Pushmataha | OK | N/A | April 12 | 2340 | 28 miles (45 km) | N/A | 69 deaths, 353 injuries – Catastrophic tornado obliterated one third of Antlers and injured 10% of residents. Six hundred buildings were obliterated with another seven hundred damaged. Damages totalled $1.5 million not adjusting for inflation.[nb 2] Some witness claim to have seen two tornadoes, could have been either twins or a multiple-vortex event.[1] Antlers suffered 40% population loss in 1950 census and remains far below its peak pre-tornado population of 3,200. |
| F2 | S of Harrison to SE of Bellefonte | Boone | AR | N/A | April 12 | 0050 | 5 miles (8.0 km) | N/A | 2 injuries; tourist cabins and gas station destroyed |
| F3 | W of Pineville to S of Stella | McDonald | MO | N/A | April 12 | 0100 | 13 miles (21 km) | N/A | 1 death, 15 injuries – Several homes destroyed north of Pineville |
| F2 | Gage Mountain to E of Berryville | Carroll | AR | N/A | April 12 | 0200 | 6 miles (9.7 km) | N/A | Home destroyed in Cisco community |
| F3 | Crosses to E of Metalton | Madison, Carroll | AR | N/A | April 12 | 0200 | 30 miles (48 km) | N/A | 9 deaths, 30 injuries – damage to six rural communities |
| F2 | Palmyra (1st tornado) to Loraine, IL | Marion (MO), Adams (IL) | MO, IL | N/A | April 12 | 0215 | 30 miles (48 km) | N/A | 19 injuries. Likely a combination of tornado family and downburst winds;[1] destroyed much of downtown Quincy, including the courthouse.[2] |
| F4 | SW to NE of Morrisville | Polk | MO | N/A | April 12 | 0245 | 8 miles (13 km) | N/A | 4 deaths, 19 injuries – Northern part of Morrisville had major damage |
| F2 | Plymouth | Hancock, McDonough | IL | N/A | April 12 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Damage in Plymouth area |
| F3 | S of Bradleyville to NE of Mansfield | Taney, Douglas, Wright | MO | N/A | April 12 | 0250 | 32 miles (51 km) | N/A | 20 injuries – intense tornado passed through several rural communities |
| F4 | SW of Booneville to Minnow Creek | Logan, Johnson | AR | N/A | April 12 | 0300 | 50 miles (80 km) | N/A | 10 deaths, 70 injuries – many homes swept away in rural communities. Tornado passed near Hagarville.[1] |
| F2 | Industry area | McDonough | IL | N/A | April 12 | 0300 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | N/A | 20 buildings damaged on west side of Industry. |
| F2 | Palmyra (2nd tornado) | Marion | MO | N/A | April 12 | 0400 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | N/A | 11 injuries – second tornado to hit Palmyra; one hundred buildings in northwest part of town damaged.[1] |
See also
- 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak – Produced a violent F5 tornado over southern portions of Oklahoma City
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- Tornado outbreak of May 18–21, 2013 – Generated an EF5 tornado in the same area as the 1999 event
- Tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003 – Spawned an F4 tornado that hit Tinker Air Force Base
Notes
- All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.
- All losses are in 1945 USD unless otherwise stated.
References
- Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. p. 313. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
- Weiser, Dennis (2009). Illinois Courthouses: An Illustrated History. Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning. p. 15.
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