Tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912

The tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912 was a major tornado outbreak. At least six violent tornadoes touched down throughout Oklahoma, with near constant activity until early the next day. At least 15 cities were affected. 40 people died, and 120 injured.[1]

Tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912

Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	April 27–28, 1912
Tornadoes confirmed	26
Max. rating^1	F4 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak^2	Approximately 24 hours
Casualties	≥45 fatalities, ≥167 injuries
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale ^2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Meteorological synopsis

Limited weather data was collected and recorded at that time in Oklahoma. Predating 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 in central Texas, leaving a southwest/northeast stationary front. Early on the 28th, it pushed back northward against a warm front to the east. The warm front was noted to have moved from the southeast on the 27th to the northeast on the 28th; it was this movement of warm air against the cold front over that that fueled the storms that provided the tornado activity.[1]

Tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
?	1	1	10	6	8	0	≥ 26

April 27

List of confirmed tornadoes – April 27, 1912[nb 1]

FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total 0 0 0 6 6 7 0 ≥ 19 Deaths: 36 Injuries: 128
F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Damage[nb 2]	Summary
F4	SE of Kirkland, Texas to N of Eldorado, Oklahoma	Childress (TX), Hardeman (TX), Jackson (OK)	TX, OK	1630	40 miles (64 km)	0.5 mi (800 m)	$77,000	5 deaths – This major, long-tracked tornado killed five people and injured 20 others in Texas; four of the deaths were in one family as their home was swept away. 30 homes were damaged or destroyed in both states, with $12,000 losses near Eldorado and $65,000 losses in Texas. The tornado struck 43 farms in its path.[2]
F2	Warren	Jackson	OK	1815	unknown	unknown	unknown	Tornado hit Warren around noon CST.[3] Details are unavailable.[4]
F4	SE of Granite to Lugert to NW of Hobart	Greer, Kiowa	OK	1830	40 miles (64 km)	0.5 mi (800 m)	$300,000[5]	7+ deaths – Nearly all buildings (except two) were leveled in Lugert, where a mother and her daughter died. The tornado transported papers 75 mi (121 km) away. The tornado caused three (possibly five) deaths and killed 100 or more cattle near of Hobart.[3][4]
F3	Rocky area	Washita	OK	1915	20 miles (32 km)	0.5 mi (800 m)	unknown	A tornado destroyed about 50 homes, a school, and 10 barns as it hit Rocky. The tornado began 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of town and ended 15 mi (24 km) northeast of town.[3][4][5]
F2	Corn area	Washita	OK	1950	about 10 miles (16 km)	unknown	unknown	4 deaths – Tornado hit Corn, then called Korn until World War I, and the nearby "Korn Valley", where four people died.[3] No other information available.[4] Counted by Grazulis as part of the next tornado, below,[3] but more recent research has shown this to have been a separate tornado.[4]
F4	W of Colony to S of Geary	Washita, Caddo, Blaine	OK	2000	27 miles (43 km)	0.5 mi (800 m)	$5,000[5]	2 deaths[4] – This large and powerful tornado devastated farms across Caddo County.[3]
F3	W of Altus to W of Blair	Jackson	OK	2030	11 miles (18 km)	250 yd (230 m)	$19,000[5]	This tornado devastated about 12 farms near Martha. One person was injured.[3][5]
F3	SW of Hinton to Calumet to NW of El Reno	Caddo, Canadian	OK	2100	23 miles (37 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$125,000[5]	3+ deaths – This strong tornado hit the towns of Hinton and Calumet. 26 structures were destroyed in Calumet, 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.[3]
F4	S of Bartley to Cambridge area	Red Willow, Furnas	NE	2200	10 miles (16 km)	unknown	unknown	A tornado destroyed three homes and obliterated at least five barns. An entire farmsite was swept clean of all buildings. Four people survived the tornado in an orchard, but with injuries.[3]
F4	E of Erick to E of Sayre to Elk City	Beckham	OK	2245	23 miles (37 km)	150 yd (140 m)	unknown	2 deaths – A tornado destroyed 35 buildings and killed 15 livestock.[5] Two people died near Sayre as the tornado destroyed 11 homes. Five funnel clouds were observed along the path of the storm, and debris from homes was strewn for miles.[3]
F4	W of Foss to Butler	Washita, Custer	OK	0030	20 miles (32 km)	150 yd (140 m)	$50,000[5]	6 deaths – This tornado destroyed the town of Foss and the east side of Butler.[3][5][6] The tornado destroyed 32 homes in Butler. Debris from the town was found in Putnam, 15 mi (24 km) to the northeast.[3]
F3	SW of Speer to S of Dela	Choctaw	OK	0030	7 miles (11 km)	167 yd (153 m)	unknown	1 death, 3 injuries – Details are unknown.[4]
F2	Granite	Greer	OK	0220	8 miles (13 km)	unknown	unknown	Details are unknown.[4]
F3	NW of Stratford to SE of Butler	Custer	OK	0230	5 miles (8.0 km)	unknown	$50,000[5]	1 death – A tornado damaged or destroyed eight farmhouses.[3]
F4	NW of Hobart to Sentinel to NW of Cordell	Kiowa, Washita	OK	0245	20 miles (32 km)	600 yd (550 m)	$75,000[3]	4 deaths – A violent tornado damaged or destroyed about 60 homes in Sentinel, mostly in the western half of the town. There were no injuries as the entire population had seen the funnel approaching 15 minutes in advance.[3] Two people died on a farm southwest of Sentinel. The tornado then continued to the northwest edge of Cordell, destroying six more homes, killing two people before turning east and dissipating.[3]
F3	S of Granite to N of Lone Wolf	Greer, Kiowa	OK	0245	12 miles (19 km)	unknown	unknown	1 death – A tornado destroyed buildings and farmhouses on at least 14 farms.[3]
F2	Crescent/Mulhall areas	Logan	OK	0545	5 miles (8.0 km)	unknown	unknown	A tornado destroyed at least two homes. Two people may have been crushed to death in a storm cave.[3]
F2	W of Butler	Custer	OK	0545	unknown	unknown	unknown	A tornado destroyed several barns.[3]
F2	E of Cashion to Cedar Valley	Logan	OK	0555[4]	5 miles (8.0 km)	unknown	unknown	A tornado destroyed a home and a barn 8 mi (13 km) southwest of Guthrie.[3]

April 28

List of confirmed tornadoes – April 28, 1912[nb 1]

FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 ≥ 6 Deaths: 6 Injuries: 24
F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Damage[nb 2]	Summary
F0+	SE of Hobart	Kiowa	OK	~0730[5]	unknown	unknown	unknown	Details are unknown.[4]
F2	SW of Sallisaw	Sequoyah	OK	0830[4]	10 miles (16 km)	unknown	unknown	A tornado destroyed six homes.[3]
F2	N of Marble to E of Bunch	Sequoyah, Adair	OK	0830	12 miles (19 km)	unknown	unknown	2 deaths, 4 injuries – Details are unknown.[4]
F2	N of Bono to S of Joshua	Johnson	TX	1700	5 miles (8.0 km)	50 yd (46 m)	unknown	A tornado destroyed small homes and barns.[3]
F4	SSW of Henderson to S of Church Hill to Tatum area	Rusk, Panola	TX	1930	30 miles (48 km)	200 yd (180 m)	unknown	4 deaths – A 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.[3]
F1	Fouke, Arkansas area	Cass	TX	0100	unknown	unknown	unknown	2 deaths – A tornado occurred 12 mi (19 km) south of Texarkana, felling a tree that killed two women.[3]

April 29

List of confirmed tornadoes – April 29, 1912[nb 1]

FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ≥ 1 Deaths: 3 Injuries: 15
F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Damage[nb 2]	Summary
F2	S of Liddieville to N of Winnsboro	Franklin	LA	unknown	10 miles (16 km)	400 yd (370 m)	unknown	3 deaths – A tornado destroyed many homes and much timber.[3]

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• Tornado outbreak of April 20–22, 1912 impacted much of the same region.

Notes

1. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.
2. All damage totals are in 1912 USD unless otherwise stated.

References

1. "The Tornado Outbreak of April 27-28, 1912". National Weather Service. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
2. Grazulis 1993, p. 733
3. Grazulis 1993, p. 734
4. "Tornado Tables for the April 27-28, 1912 Tornado Outbreak". Norman, Oklahoma: National Weather Service. March 12, 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
5. 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.
6. "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.

Bibliography

• Grazulis, Thomas (1993), Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events, St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Environmental Films, ISBN 1-879362-03-1
• Grazulis, Thomas (2003), The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0

External links

For the latest severe weather information:

• National Weather Service
• Storm Prediction Center