The 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak was a historic severe weather event that affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States on April 10–12, 1965. The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of tornadoes inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of tornado strength, ever recorded, including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In all, the outbreak killed 266 people, injured 3,662 others, and caused $1.217 billion (1965 USD) in damage.
In 2023, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis created the outbreak intensity score (OIS) as a way to rank various tornado outbreaks. The 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak received an OIS of 238, making it the fourth-worst tornado outbreak in recorded history.
Meteorological synopsis
A vigorous extratropical cyclone centered over the northeastern High Plains, in the region of the Dakotas, was the primary catalyst for widespread severe weather on April 11, 1965. As early as the preceding day, a strong jet stream in the upper two-thirds of the troposphere traversed the southern Great Plains and was responsible for an outbreak of tornadoes from the Kansas–Missouri border to Central Arkansas, including a violent F4 tornado that struck the town of Conway in Faulkner County, Arkansas, killing six people and injuring 200. The following morning, at 7:00 a.m. CDT (12:00 UTC), data from radiosondes indicated wind speeds of between the altitudes of over the Sonoran–Chihuahua Deserts and the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains. Meanwhile, at , winds of impinged on the southern Great Plains. Retreating northward, a warm front interacted with a shortwave to produce isolated thunderstorms from northern Missouri and Central Illinois to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Simultaneously, a strong low-level jet stream brought a moistening air mass northward: dew points of at least reached southernmost Illinois and Indiana by 10:00 a.m. CDT (15:00 UTC). At 2:00 p.m. CDT (19:00 UTC)—fifteen minutes after the first tornado was spotted—the first tornado watch of the day was issued, covering portions of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. For the first time in the U.S. Weather Bureau's history, an entire Weather Bureau Office's jurisdiction, in Northern Indiana, was under a tornado warning; this was termed a "blanket tornado warning" and was later used by several National Weather Service (NWS) offices on April 3, 1974.
Wakarusa–Midway–Middlebury, Indiana
This violent and destructive tornado was the most famous and well-publicized of the Palm Sunday tornadoes, often remembered as the first of two F4 tornadoes to hit the Dunlap (Elkhart)–Goshen area. It formed near the St. Joseph–Elkhart County border and tracked northeastward, striking Wakarusa, where it caused severe damage and killed a child. The tornado then intensified significantly as it moved toward northern Goshen and the Midway Trailer Court. As it neared the trailer park, Elkhart Truth reporter Paul Huffman, then reporting on severe weather, overheard a report of a tornado approaching his position on U.S. Route 33, about south of Midway. As Huffman and his wife Betty awaited the storm, he noticed the tornado approaching from the southwest, so he began taking a series of photographs, six in all. The photographs captured the evolution of the storm into twin funnels as it struck the trailer park, with each funnel gyrating around a central point yet only producing one damage swath. The tornado struck the trailer park at 6:32 p.m. CDT (23:32 UTC). (Roughly 45 minutes later, another F4 tornado passed just to the north of the Midway Trailer Court, splitting into yet another pair of funnels as it struck the Sunnyside neighborhood in Dunlap.) The tornado obliterated roughly 80% of the trailer park, with 10 deaths, and caused F4 damage to numerous other homes near Middlebury, some of which were swept clean. Three more people died in the Middlebury area before the tornado ended. Unofficial estimates of the death toll vary, with Grazulis listing 14 deaths instead of the 31 appearing in the official National Climatic Data Center/National Centers for Environmental Information (NCDC/NCEI) database. An airplane wing from Goshen Airport was found away in Centreville, Michigan.
Orland, Indiana/Coldwater Lake–southern Hillsdale–Manitou Beach–Devils Lake–southern Tecumseh, Michigan (two tornadoes)
With the telephone lines down, emergency services in Elkhart County, Indiana, could not warn Michigan residents that the tornadoes were headed their way. From the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the radar operator at the U.S. Weather Bureau Office (WBO) observed that the thunderstorms over Northern Indiana and western Lower Michigan were moving east-northeastward at . Of the southernmost counties of Michigan, all but three—Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph—were hit.
These deadly and enormous tornadoes all formed in Michigan, with one of the 2 supercells forming just south of the Indiana-Michigan state line. With the first, being the deadliest, and strongest of the two tornadoes forming near Orland, debarking trees and leveling homes on the shoreline of Lake Pleasant in Steuben County. Crossing into Branch County, Michigan, the tornado damaged more homes in East Gilead. The tornado was up to wide as it obliterated homes on Coldwater Lake; 18 deaths occurred there. Debris from the empty foundations was strewn over the surface of the lake and deposited in a small cove. The tornado destroyed 200 homes and caused one additional death as it traversed Branch County. After striking Coldwater Lake, the tornado widened even further, up to across, destroying a century-old farmhouse and killing a family of six near Reading. The tornado then narrowed back to as it struck Baw Beese Lake, near the southern edge of Hillsdale. The tornado hurled a New York Central Railroad freight train into Baw Beese Lake. Across Hillsdale County the tornado killed 11 or more people and destroyed 177 homes.
Entering Lenawee County, the tornado traversed the Irish Hills and approached Manitou Beach–Devils Lake. As it struck Manitou Beach–Devils Lake, the tornado destroyed the Manitou Beach Baptist Church; of the 50 people then in attendance for Palm Sunday services, 26 failed to reach shelter in time and were stranded beneath debris for up to two hours. Eight fatalities occurred in the church. The local dance pavilion on Devils Lake was demolished, having recently been rebuilt after a fire on Labor Day in 1963. One of the tornadoes damaged parts of Onsted; in the nearby village of Tipton, which suffered a direct hit, 94% of the town's buildings were damaged or destroyed. Across Lenawee County the tornado destroyed 189 homes. About 30 minutes later, the Manitou Beach–Devils Lake area in Lenawee County was hit by the second of the two tornadoes, causing numerous fatalities, including a family of six in eastern Lenawee County who had survived the first tornado. Many homes were hit twice.
One or both F4 tornadoes struck the then-Village of Milan, south of Ann Arbor. The Wolverine Plastics building on the Monroe County side of town, then the top employer in the village, was destroyed with the roof being completely removed in the process. The Milan Junior High School was seriously damaged along with the adjacent, senior high school, disused since 1958, at Hurd and North streets, on the Washtenaw County side of Milan. Milan became a city in 1967; opened a new Middle School in 1969, which replaced the old Junior High School; and eventually demolished the 1900 building that housed the former junior and senior high schools.
The first of the F4 tornadoes produced a wind gust at Tecumseh—the highest wind measurement in a tornado until a measurement of near Red Rock, Oklahoma, on April 26, 1991; a higher measurement of —later corrected to —in the F5 tornado of May 3, 1999, broke this record. Damage from the two tornadoes was difficult to separate and covered more than across, including much downburst and microburst destruction. Total damage estimates from the two tornadoes were $32 million with more than 550 homes, a church, and 100 cottages destroyed.
Dunlap, Indiana
left|thumb|220x220px|Extreme damage to the Sunnyside, subdivision in Dunlap, Indiana
This devastating and deadly tornado was the second and deadliest of two violent tornadoes to strike the Elkhart–Goshen area, with the highest single-tornado death toll in the outbreak. It hit Dunlap about an hour after another F4 tornado hit the Midway trailer park a short distance to the southeast. Few people received warning due to the passage of the earlier storm, which disrupted communications and downed power lines, thereby affecting rescue efforts after the earlier tornado as well. The Dunlap tornado first produced tree damage beginning just west of State Road 331. Prior to crossing the St. Joseph–Elkhart county line, the tornado claimed its first two fatalities. As the tornado neared Dunlap, it intensified into an extremely violent tornado. It then devastated the Sunnyside Housing addition and the unoccupied Sunnyside Mennonite Church. The Sunnyside subdivision was completely destroyed, with many homes swept away. The Kingston Heights subdivision was similarly devastated. The death toll from the two subdivisions was 28 people, with another six killed in a home and truck stop at the junction of State Road 15 and U.S. Route 20. The Palm Sunday Tornado Memorial Park now exists near this location, at the corner of County Road 45 and Cole Street in Dunlap (). After striking Dunlap, the tornado apparently weakened somewhat, but still generated extensive damage eastward to Hunter Lake. Shortly before dissipating, the tornado tossed cars off the Indiana Turnpike near Scott. Like the Midway tornado, the Dunlap event was also witnessed as twin funnels: a photographer standing amidst the wreckage of the Midway Trailer Court captured the Dunlap tornado as it passed just to the north. It may have been the strongest tornado on April 11; in fact, Grazulis and other sources have assigned an F5 rating to the tornado, though it is officially rated F4.
Russiaville–Alto–Kokomo–Greentown–Marion, Indiana
left|thumb|Aerial view of Alto, Indiana, following the tornado.
As the Lafayette–Middlefork tornado dissipated, this violent tornado developed nearby without a definite break in the damage path. Due to changes in the intensity of the damage, surveyors split the path into two separate tornadoes. At about 7:28 p.m. CDT (00:28 UTC), the new, rapidly strengthening tornado hit Russiaville, causing severe damage to the entire community. The tornado destroyed or damaged 90% of the community, though most of the damage ranged from F0–F3. The tornado then widened to across as it moved into nearby Alto, causing F4-level damage to homes, before striking the southern edge of the larger city of Kokomo. Collectively, the tornado destroyed 100 homes in Alto and Kokomo. The Maple Crest apartment complex was unroofed and incurred the collapse of its uppermost walls. As the tornado continued eastward, it apparently intensified and killed ten people in Greentown, most of whom had been in automobiles. The tornado destroyed 80 homes, many of which it obliterated and swept away, as it struck multiple subdivisions in the Greentown area. In all, the tornado killed 18 people and injured another 600 in Howard County alone. Just south of Swayzee, the tornado leveled some more homes and caused three additional deaths. As it struck the southern outskirts of Marion, the tornado leveled a pair of homes, partly unroofed a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, and wrecked the Panorama shopping center. 20 injuries occurred at the VA hospital, and looters scavenged the shopping center. Several homes were destroyed and hundreds others damaged in Marion as well. The tornado killed five people as it traversed Grant County. Losses totaled $500.025 million, $12 million alone of which occurred near Marion.
Pittsfield–Grafton–Strongsville, Ohio
Shortly after 11:00 p.m. CDT (04:00 UTC), this destructive tornado touched down in Lorain County, Ohio, and headed east-northeastward. Around 11:12 p.m. CDT (04:12 UTC), the tornado struck Pittsfield, Ohio, then located at the junction of Ohio State Route 303 and Ohio State Road 58. Of the settlement's 50 residents, the tornado killed seven. The tornado also killed two motorists whose arrival in town coincided with the tornadoes. According to the U.S. Weather Bureau Office (WBO) in Cleveland, Ohio, the tornado produced "total" devastation as it struck Pittsfield. The tornado destroyed 12 homes, six of which "literally vanished," along with a combined gas station/grocery store, a pair of churches, and the town hall. The tornado also toppled a statue at a Civil War monument, but the concrete base of the statue remained standing.
After ravaging Pittsfield, the tornado damaged 200 homes in and near Grafton, some of which indicated F2-level intensity. A total of 17 homes were severely damaged in nearby LaGrange and Columbia Station. As the tornado reached the Cleveland metropolitan area, it diverged into two paths about a apart. Several witnesses also saw two funnels merging into one, similar to the Midway–Dunlap tornadoes. Large trees situated apart were found to have been felled in opposite directions. The tornado displayed borderline-F5-level damage in northernmost Strongsville. There, 18 homes were leveled, some of which were cleanly swept from their foundations, and 50 others were severely damaged in town. Damages amounted to at least $5 million and are officially listed as $50 million. Grazulis classified the tornado as an F5, but it is officially rated F4.
Non-tornadic effects
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Aftermath and recovery
thumb|left|Damage in Toledo, Ohio, following the F4 tornado of April 11, 1965
In the Midwest, at least 266 people—some sources say 256–271—were killed and 1,500 injured (1,200 in Indiana). This is the fourth-deadliest day for tornadoes on record, behind April 3, 1974 (310 deaths), April 27, 2011 (324), and March 18, 1925 (747, including 695 by the Tri-State Tornado). It occurred on Palm Sunday, an important day in the Christian religion, and many people were attending services at church, one possible reason why some warnings were not received. There had been a late winter in 1965, much of March being cold and snowy; and as the day progressed, warm temperatures encouraged picnickers and sightseers. For many areas, April 11 marked the first day of above-average temperatures, so members of the public, being outdoors or attending services, failed to receive updates from radio and television. The high death toll in the outbreak despite accurate warnings led to changes in the dissemination of severe weather alerts by the Severe Local Storm Warning Center in Kansas City, Missouri, now the Norman, Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center. it also generated nine tornadoes of F4 or greater intensity in the same state, which set a single-state record for an outbreak until April 3, 1974.
An unusually pronounced elevated mixed layer (EML) was present over the Great Lakes region during the outbreak—a similar pattern having been observed on March 28, 1920, April 3, 1956, and April 3, 1974. A strong jet stream, combined with tornadoes, lofted topsoil from Illinois and Missouri eastward, producing hazy skies prior to the arrival of storms.
See also
- Lists of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1956 – Produced a powerful F5 tornado family in Michigan
- 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – Generated deadly F4 tornadoes in the Great Lakes region
- 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – Yielded long-tracked, intense tornadoes from Alabama to the Carolinas
- 1974 Super Outbreak – Associated with numerous violent tornadoes across much of Indiana and Greater Cincinnati
- Disagreements on the intensity of tornadoes