Tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912

From April 27–29, 1912, a major tornado outbreak generated at least six violent tornadoes in Oklahoma, with near-constant activity until early the next day. At least 15 cities were affected, 40 people died, and 120 others were injured. Tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis considered this outbreak to be among the worst on record in the state of Oklahoma, as measured by fatalities and violent tornadoes. At least five strong tornadoes affected Washita County, Oklahoma, during this outbreak.[1][nb 2][nb 3][nb 4]

Tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationApril 27–28, 1912
Tornadoes
confirmed		26
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		Approximately 24 hours
Fatalities≥ 47 fatalities, ≥ 175 injuries
Damage[nb 1]
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Background

Limited weather data were collected and recorded at that time in Oklahoma. Antedating upper atmospheric measurements, most data collection was of human observations, along with temperature, pressure, wind speed and direction, and rainfall.[1] A cold front moved south through Oklahoma into Texas on April 26, before stalling as a stationary front draped across Central Texas, oriented from northeast to southwest. Early on April 27, it pushed back northward against a warm front to the east, due to a vigorous upper-atmospheric trough approaching from the west. The warm front was noted to have moved from the southeast on April 27 to the northeast on April 28; this movement of warm air against the cold front, in proximity to a low-pressure area over western Oklahoma, provided sufficient atmospheric lift, thereby fuelling the storms that provided the tornado activity.[1]

Confirmed tornadoes
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
 ? 1 1 10 6 8 0 ≥ 26

April 27 event
Confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, April 27, 1912[nb 5][nb 6]
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F4 SE of Kirkland, TX to N of Eldorado, OK Childress, Hardeman, Jackson TX, OK 16:30–? 40 miles (64 km) 800 yards (730 m) 5 deaths – Major, long-tracked tornado killed five people, injured 23 others, and caused $77,000 in losses, including $65,000 in Texas and $12,000 in Oklahoma. Four of the five deaths were in a single family. Tornado struck 43 farms and destroyed or damaged 30 homes, some of which were swept away.[12]
F2 Warren Jackson OK 18:15–? Un­known Un­known Tornado hit Warren around noon CST. Details are unavailable.[13][14]
F4 SE of Granite to Lugert to NW of Hobart Greer, Kiowa OK 18:30–? 20 miles (32 km) 800 yards (730 m) 7+ deaths – Tornado leveled all but two buildings in Lugert, killing a mother and her daughter there. Papers were found 75 mi (121 km) distant. Tornado also caused at least three—possibly five—deaths and killed at least 100 cattle near Hobart. 25 people were injured and losses totaled $300,000.[14][13][15]
F3 Rocky Washita OK 19:15–? 20 miles (32 km) 800 yards (730 m) Tornado destroyed about 50 homes, a school, and 10 barns in and near Rocky. Tornado began 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of town and ended 15 mi (24 km) northeast of town. Two injuries were reported.[14][13][15]
F2 Corn Washita OK 19:50–? 10 miles (16 km) Un­known 4 deaths – Tornado hit Corn, then called Korn until World War I, and the nearby "Korn Valley", where four people died. No other information is available.[13][14]
F4 W of Colony to S of Geary Washita, Caddo, Blaine OK 20:00–? 27 miles (43 km) 800 yards (730 m) 2 deaths – Large, powerful tornado devastated farms across Caddo County. Losses totaled $5,000 and 15 people were injured.[14][15][13]
F3 W of Altus to W of Blair Jackson OK 20:30–? 11 miles (18 km) 250 yards (230 m) Tornado devastated about 12 farms near Martha. One person was injured and losses totaled $19,000.[14][15]
F3 SW of Hinton to Calumet to NW of El Reno Caddo, Canadian OK 21:00–? 23 miles (37 km) 400 yards (370 m) 3+ deaths – Strong tornado hit the towns of Hinton and Calumet, destroying 26 structures in the latter, where three people died. Four others may have been killed in Hinton. A sign from Hinton was found to have been carried north of Calumet. Losses totaled $125,000 and four injuries were reported.[14][15]
F4 S of Bartley to Cambridge Red Willow, Furnas NE 22:00–? 10 miles (16 km) Un­known Violent tornado destroyed at least five barns, along with three farmhouses. An entire farmstead was swept clean. Four people survived the tornado in an orchard, but with injuries.[14]
F4 E of Erick to E of Sayre to Elk City Beckham OK 22:45–? 23 miles (37 km) 150 yards (140 m) 2 deaths – Tornado destroyed 35 buildings, killed 15 livestock, and injured 15 people. Tornado destroyed 11 homes and caused fatalities near Sayre. Five funnel clouds were observed along the path of the storm, and debris from homes was strewn for miles.[14][15]
F4 W of Foss to Butler Washita, Custer OK 00:30–? 20 miles (32 km) 150 yards (140 m) 6 deaths – Tornado destroyed the town of Foss and 32 homes on the eastern side of Butler. Debris from the latter town was found in Putnam, 15 mi (24 km) to the northeast. Losses totaled $50,000 and 20 injuries were reported.[14][15][16]
F3 SW of Speer to S of Dela Choctaw OK 00:30–? 7 miles (11 km) 167 yards (153 m) 1 death – Details are unknown. Three injuries occurred.[13]
F2 Granite Greer OK 02:20–? 8 miles (13 km) Un­known Details are unknown.[13]
F3 NW of Stratford to SE of Butler Custer OK 02:30–? 5 miles (8.0 km) Un­known 1 death – Tornado damaged or destroyed eight farmhouses. Losses totaled $50,000.[14][15]
F4 NW of Hobart to Sentinel to NW of Cordell Kiowa, Washita OK 02:45–? 20 miles (32 km) 600 yards (550 m) 4 deaths – Violent tornado damaged or destroyed about 60 homes in Sentinel, mostly in the western half of the town. No injuries resulted, as the entire population had seen the funnel approaching 15 minutes in advance. Two people died on a farm southwest of Sentinel. The tornado then continued to the northwestern edge of Cordell, destroying six more homes and killing two people before turning east and dissipating. Losses reached $75,000 and 15 injuries occurred along the path.[14]
F3 S of Granite to N of Lone Wolf Greer, Kiowa OK 02:45–? 12 miles (19 km) Un­known 1 death – Tornado destroyed buildings and farmhouses on at least 14 farms. Five people were injured.[14]

April 28 event
Confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, April 28, 1912[nb 5][nb 6]
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F2 Crescent to Mulhall Logan OK 05:45–? 5 miles (8.0 km) Un­known 2 deaths – Tornado destroyed at least two homes. Two people were crushed to death in a storm cave.[14]
F2 W of Butler Custer OK 05:45–? Un­known Un­known Tornado destroyed several barns.[14]
F2 E of Cashion to Cedar Valley Logan OK 05:55–? 5 miles (8.0 km) Un­known Tornado destroyed a home and a barn 8 mi (13 km) southwest of Guthrie.[14][13]
F0 SE of Hobart Kiowa OK 07:30–? 3 miles (4.8 km) Un­known Tornado reported.[13][15]
F2 SW of Sallisaw Sequoyah OK 08:30–? 10 miles (16 km) Un­known Tornado destroyed six homes.[14][13]
F2 N of Marble to E of Bunch Sequoyah, Adair OK 08:30–? 12 miles (19 km) Un­known 2 deaths – Details are unknown. Four injuries were reported.[13]
F2 N of Bono to S of Joshua Johnson TX 17:00–? 5 miles (8.0 km) 50 yards (46 m) Tornado destroyed barns and small homes.[14]
F4 SSW of Henderson to S of Church Hill to Tatum Rusk, Panola TX 19:30–? 30 miles (48 km) 200 yards (180 m) 4 deaths – Long-tracked tornado destroyed 30 or more homes in six communities. It destroyed a brick home, killing a man inside. Two people were thrown 500 yd (460 m) as well. Downburst damage occurred in Tatum. 14 injuries occurred along the path.[14]
F1 Fouke Cass TX 01:00–? Un­known Un­known 2 deaths – Tornado occurred 12 mi (19 km) south of Texarkana, killing two women beneath a fallen tree. 10 other people were injured.[14]

April 29 event
Confirmed tornadoes – Monday, April 29, 1912[nb 5][nb 6]
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F2 S of Liddieville to N of Winnsboro Franklin LA Un­known 10 miles (16 km) 400 yards (370 m) 3 deaths – Tornado destroyed considerable amounts of timberland, along with several homes. 15 people were injured.[14]

See also

Notes
  1. All losses are in 1912 USD unless otherwise noted.
  2. 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.[2]
  3. 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.[3][4] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[5] Canada utilized the old scale until April 1, 2013;[6] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[7]
  4. 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.[8] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[9] 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.[10]
  5. 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.
  6. Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[11]

References
  1. "The Tornado Outbreak of April 27-28, 1912". National Weather Service. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. 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 17 September 2019.
  3. Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
  4. Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
  5. Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  6. "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  7. "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  8. Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
  9. Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. Cook, A. R.; Schaefer, J. T. (August 2008). Written at Norman, Oklahoma. "The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks". Monthly Weather Review. Boston: American Meteorological Society. 136 (8): 3135. Bibcode:2008MWRv..136.3121C. doi:10.1175/2007MWR2171.1.open access
  11. Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. Boston: American Meteorological Society. 19 (2): 310. Bibcode:2004WtFor..19..310B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2.
  12. Grazulis 1993, p. 733
  13. "Tornado Tables for the April 27-28, 1912 Tornado Outbreak". Norman, Oklahoma: National Weather Service. March 12, 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  14. Grazulis 1993, p. 734
  15. Cline, Isaac (1912). Cline, Isaac (ed.). "District No. 7, lower Mississippi Valley" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. U.S. Weather Bureau. 40 (4): 571–573. Bibcode:1912MWRv...40..571C. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1912)40<571:DNLMV>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  16. "Quotes from Newspaper Reports Related to the Tornado Outbreak of April 27-28, 1912". Norman, Oklahoma: National Weather Service. March 12, 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.

Sources
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