A deadly series of at least 33 tornadoes hit at least 10 different U.S. states on May 9–11, 1953. Tornadoes appeared daily from Minnesota in the north to Texas in the south. The strongest and deadliest tornado was a powerful F5 tornado that struck Waco, Texas on May 11, causing 114 of the 144 deaths in the outbreak. Alongside the 1902 Goliad tornado, it was the deadliest tornado in Texas history and is the 11th deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The tornado's winds demolished more than 600 houses, 1,000 other structures, and over 2,000 vehicles. 597 injuries occurred, and many survivors had to wait more than 14 hours for rescue. The destruction dispelled a myth that the geography of the region spared Waco from tornadoes, and along with other deadly tornadoes in 1953, the Waco disaster was a catalyst for advances in understanding the link between tornadoes and radar-detected hook echoes. It also generated support for improved civil defense systems, the formation of weather radar networks, and improved communications between stakeholders such as meteorologists, local officials, and the public.
The Waco tornado was not the only deadly and damaging tornado in the outbreak sequence. On the same day as the Waco disaster, a high-end F4 tornado struck the Texas city of San Angelo, causing catastrophic damage, killing 13 people, and injuring more than 150. The tornado swept away numerous homes and damaged a school, but students inside escaped without serious injuries. On May 9, a long-tracked F3 tornado destroyed a large swath of Hebron, Nebraska and killed five people in the area. The following day, May 10, featured numerous, often long-tracked and intense tornado families across the states of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Two families on nearly parallel paths traveled more than each and killed a combined total of six people, mostly in Wisconsin. At least one of the tornado families reached F4 intensity in Wisconsin. Two other F4 tornadoes also struck Iowa. Additionally, a relatively moderate tornado of F2 intensity caused significant loss of life in a shack in Minnesota, killing six people. Although 33 tornadoes were officially registered from May 9–11, others likely occurred but either went undetected or were not officially documented.
Background
After two days of intense tornado activity, May 11, 1953, produced a rich, unstable air mass that moved northward over Texas from the Gulf of Mexico. As of 9:30 a.m. CST (15:30 UTC), thunderstorm activity from the overnight hours persisted, generating residual outflow boundaries. Already, anomalously warm surface temperatures reached the mid-70s °F (mid-20s °C) as far north as a line stretching from Dallas to Austin. Dew points were correspondingly high as well, climbing into the lower 70s °F. (lower 20s °C) As a dry line crossed the warm sector in the afternoon, a layer of cool surface temperatures left by the outflow boundaries locally enhanced low-level wind shear, acting as a mechanism to enable supercell and tornado formation. Winds backed along the outflow boundaries, perhaps aiding the formation of large and violent tornadoes. Due to conducive conditions for severe weather, the U.S. Weather Bureau (later the National Weather Service) Weather Forecast Office in New Orleans issued a tornado alert covering sections of Central and West Texas.
Daily statistics
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|+ Daily statistics
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Date
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Total
! scope="col" colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"|Fujita scale rating
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Deaths
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Injuries
|-
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| F0
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| F1
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| F2
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| F3
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| F4
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| F5
|-
!scope="row"| May 9
|align="right"|6
|align="right"|0
|align="right"|3
|align="right"|1
|align="right"|2
|align="right"|0
|align="right"|0
|align="right"|5
|align="right"|82
|-
!scope="row"| May 10
|align="right"|22
|align="right"|1
|align="right"|10
|align="right"|6
|align="right"|2
|align="right"|3
|align="right"|0
|align="right"|12
|align="right"|57
|-
!scope="row"| May 11
|align="right"|5
|align="right"|0
|align="right"|2
|align="right"|1
|align="right"|0
|align="right"|1
|align="right"|1
|align="right"|127
|align="right"|756
|-
!scope="row"| Total
|align="right" bgcolor=#|33
|align="right" bgcolor=#|1
|align="right" bgcolor=#|15
|align="right" bgcolor=#|8
|align="right" bgcolor=#|4
|align="right" bgcolor=#|4
|align="right" bgcolor=#|1
|align="right"|144
|align="right"|895
|}
May 9 event
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|+ List of confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, May 9, 1953
! scope="col" style="width:3%; text-align:center;"|F#
! scope="col" style="width:7%; text-align:center;" class="unsortable"|Location
! scope="col" style="width:6%; text-align:center;" class="unsortable"|County / Parish
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align:center;"|State
! scope="col" style="width:6%; text-align:center;"|Start
! scope="col" style="width:6%; text-align:center;"|Time (UTC)
! scope="col" style="width:6%; text-align:center;"|Path length
! scope="col" style="width:6%; text-align:center;"| width
! scope="col" class="unsortable" style="width:48%; text-align:center;"|Summary
|-
|bgcolor=# | F1
|N of Huron
|Beadle
|SD
|
|0005
|
|
|A short-lived, weak, but large tornado caused minor damage to several structures, including a hangar at the Huron Regional Airport, a barn, and outbuildings on a farmstead.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F1
|WSW of Bryant to SE of Vienna
|Clark, Hamlin
|SD
|
|0100
|
|
|A tornado developed near Cherry Lake and headed north-northeastward, producing minimal damage to structures on several farms.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F3
|N of Courtland to Western Republic SW of Byron, NE
|Republic
|KS
|
|0310
|
|
|This tornado may have first developed south of Courtland, causing minor damage to a farm, before redeveloping, possibly as a separate tornado, beyond town. From that point on, it badly damaged 10 farms in Kansas, with lesser damage to others in its path. One of the farmhouses was called "destroyed," along with many sheds and barns. According to Thomas P. Grazulis, the tornado may have entered Nebraska, ending just north of the Kansas–Nebraska border, but its path in Nebraska was overlooked as media mostly covered the Belvidere event. Total losses reached $45,000. One injury may have occurred but was officially unconfirmed.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F2
|NE of Sumner
|Dawson
|NE
|
|0500
|
|
|A short-lived, but strong tornado wrecked several structures, including a sizeable barn. The tornado was not rated as significant (F2+) by tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F1
|SW of Mangum
|Greer
|OK
|
|0715
|
|
|Brief tornado with the appearance of a dust devil caused a frail shed to collapse and caused minor structural damage nearby.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F2
|Russellville
|Pope
|AR
|
|1810
|
|
|Eyewitnesses observed twin tornadoes, moving parallel to each other, that combined into one narrow funnel and struck Russellville. Several structures sustained modest damage, and a movable roller rink was wrecked. The tornado was not rated as significant (F2+) by Grazulis.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F1
|W of McAlester
|Pittsburg
|OK
|
|2100
|
|
|A brief tornado passed near Lake Talawanda, downing trees but causing no structural damage.
|-
|bgcolor=# | F1
|NE of Wynnewood
|Garvin
|OK
|
|2230
|
|
|Very little damage occurred as a tornado mostly affected uninhabited areas. where tornado activity definitely resumed northeast of Cochrane and ended near Brownville. As in Minnesota, This deadly and devastating tornado however, disproved the myth when it tracked directly through downtown Waco at F5 intensity.
The tornado first formed around 4:10 p.m. CST (22:10 UTC) about north-northwest of the Lorena community. It quickly began damaging structures, destroying a home near Lorena as it tracked north-northeastward. After devastating downtown Waco, the tornado continued to the north-northeast and dissipated about west of Axtell. 150 homes were wrecked.|group="nb"|name="County death tolls"
|-
!State
!Total
!County
!County<br />total
|-
| rowspan="3" style="background:#e6e9ff;"|Minnesota
| rowspan="3" style="background:#e6e9ff;"|8
|Fillmore
|1
|-
|Freeborn
|6
|-
|Olmsted
|1
|-
| style="background:#e6e9ff;"|Nebraska
| style="background:#e6e9ff;"|5
|Thayer
|5
|-
| rowspan="2" style="background:#e6e9ff;"|Texas
| rowspan="2" style="background:#e6e9ff;"|127
|McLennan
|114
|-
|Tom Green
|13
|-
| rowspan="3" style="background:#e6e9ff;"|Wisconsin
| rowspan="3" style="background:#e6e9ff;"|4
|Burnett
|1
|-
|Polk
|2
|-
|St. Croix
|1
|-
| style="background:#e6e9ff;"|Totals
| style="background:#e6e9ff;"|144
|colspan=2|
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| <small>All deaths were tornado-related</small>
|}
Following the tornado in Waco, attempts to organize disaster relief were stymied by poor organization. Local residents had not expected the tornado and had assumed that the area's geography safeguarded Waco from tornadoes. The state of Texas supported the implementation of 20 radar facilities, each with a radius, that proved successful in reducing death tolls in later tornadoes. The system was known as the Texas Radar Tornado Warning Network and also included communications between weather officials, storm spotters, and local officials.
See also
- List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of tornadoes striking downtown areas
- 1922 Austin twin tornadoes
- 1970 Lubbock tornado
Notes
References
External links
- Texas History Online
- 70th Anniversary of the Waco Tornado - NWS Fort Worth