Tornadoes of 1951

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1951, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.

Tornadoes of 1951
Timespan1951
Maximum rated tornadoF4 tornado
  • 5 locations
    on 4 different days
Tornadoes in U.S.260[1]
Damage (U.S.)$65.506 million (1951 USD)
Fatalities (U.S.)34
Fatalities (worldwide)>34

Events
Main article: List of United States tornadoes of 1951

United States yearly total
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 49 100 83 23 5 0 260

January

There were 2 confirmed tornadoes in January.[1]

January 11
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 0 1 0 0 0

A rare F2 tornado struck Mountain View, California, causing $2.5 million in damage, but no casualties.[1]

February

There were 10 confirmed tornadoes in February.[1]

February 19–20
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 1 1 4 1 0 0

A tornado outbreak struck areas from the Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. On February 20, an F2 tornado tracked 112.8 miles through Arkansas between Little Rock and Memphis, Tennessee, injuring three. Meanwhile, a brief, but strong F3 tornado killed one person and injured another near Westland Heights, Mississippi west of Starkville. Overall, seven tornadoes touched down, injuring 11 and killing one.[1]

March

There were 6 confirmed tornadoes in March.[1]

April

There were 26 confirmed tornadoes in April.[1]

April 20–21
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 3 1 1 1 0 0

An outbreak of six tornadoes struck the Great Plains and the Lower Mississippi Valley. Although most of the tornadoes were weak, a couple of strong tornadoes did touchdown and there were numerous casualties. On April 21, back-to-back F0 tornadoes in Louisiana injured two and one in rural La Salle and Ouchita Parishes respectively. The worst tornado was a long-tracked F3 tornado that touched down south of Soso, Mississippi, and moved northeast while slamming the towns of Moss and Fouke, killing two and injuring 16. Overall, this outbreak killed two and injured 19.[1]

April 30
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 1 2 1 2 0 0

Six destructive tornadoes hit Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The first tornado of the outbreak was an early morning F3 tornado that hit Pratt, Kansas and areas west of Preston. That afternoon, another F3 tornado moved directly through Downtown Oklahoma City. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported from any of the tornadoes.[1]

May

There were 57 tornadoes confirmed in the US in May.[1]

May 18–19
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 1 4 1 0 1 0

A small, but deadly outbreak of seven tornadoes struck Oklahoma and Texas. On May 18, a violent F4 tornado hit areas north of Olney, Texas. Many homes in town were destroyed, some of which were swept away with very little debris left. Tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis noted that the tornado may have reached F5 intensity as well.[2] Two people were killed and 100 others were injured. All the other tornadoes struck Oklahoma, with no additional casualties.[1]

May 24–26
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 5 1 1 0 0

Another outbreak of deadly tornadoes struck areas from the Great Plains to the Southeast. On May 24, a F1 tornado killed one person west of O'Brien, Texas. The next day another person was killed by an F3 tornado south of Clay Center, Kansas. The deadliest tornado came on May 26, when an F1 tornado struck Carrabelle, Florida, killing three. Overall, the outbreak produced seven tornadoes and five fatalities, although, oddly, there were no injuries recorded.[1]

June

There were 76 tornadoes confirmed in the US in June.[1]

June 13
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 1 1 0 0 0

An F2 tornado tore through the northwest side of Richmond, Virginia, injuring 12. A destructive, but non-fatal F1 tornado also hit Surf City, North Carolina.[1]

June 19
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 1 2 1 0 1 0

An outbreak of five tornadoes struck the Midwest. The only tornado to cause casualties was a long-tracked F4 tornado that hit the towns of Rockford and Greenfield, Minnesota, killing one and injuring 20 on its 52.6 mile path.[1]

June 23
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 1 1 0 0 0

Two fatal tornadoes struck Kansas on June 23. The first tornado was an F1 tornado that hit areas just east of Rolla, killing one person. At the same time, an even stronger F2 tornado that touched down right over Downtown Hugoton, causing major damage to multiple structures, killing one person, and injuring five others. Overall, the Kansas tornadoes killed two and injured five.[1]

June 25–27
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 6 4 2 1 0

A deadly and destructive three-day outbreak sequence of 13 tornadoes affected areas from Colorado to Pennsylvania. The worst day of the outbreak came on June 27, which is when most of the injuries and all of the fatalities occurred. The first, and deadliest, of the seven tornadoes that touched down that day was the only violent tornado of the outbreak. The F4 tornado ripped through a residential areas on the north side of WaKeeney, Kansas, killing five and injuring 100. Later, the two F3 tornadoes of the outbreak struck Illinois. The first F3 twister struck Heman, injuring 35. The second one moved through rural Logan County before striking the north side of Atlanta, killing one and injuring 15. Overall, 13 tornadoes touched down, killing six and injuring 161.[1]

July

There were 23 tornadoes confirmed in the US in July.[1]

July 20
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 0 1 1 0 0

Two strong, destructive tornadoes caused casualties on July 20. The first tornado was the F2 twister that hit areas south of Dawson, South Dakota, injuring four. Later, the F3 tornado caused major damage in the Southwestern Minneapolis, Minnesota suburbs of Minnetonka, Edina, and Richfield, killing five and injuring 40. Overall, the two tornadoes caused five deaths and 44 injuries.[1]

August

There were 27 tornadoes confirmed in the US in August.[1]

August 20–21
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 0 4 1 0 0

A series of strong tornadoes struck New England. A long-tracked F2 tornado moved through densely populated areas of Connecticut, including Hartford, injuring nine people. The strongest tornado was an F3 twister in East Hampton, Connecticut that injured eight. Overall, the five tornadoes caused no fatalities, but injured 17.[1]

September

There were 9 tornadoes confirmed in the US in September.[1]

September 26
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Two violent and deadly F4 tornadoes struck Wisconsin. The first one hit Cobb Town and Southern Manawa, killing six and injuring three. The second one moved through rural Columbia County before striking areas south of Cambria, killing one and injuring nine. Additionally, a fatal F2 tornado moved through the Huron–Manistee National Forests north of Bitely, Michigan, killing one and injuring three. Overall, the three twisters caused eight deaths and 15 injuries.[1]

October

There were 2 tornadoes confirmed in the US in October.[1]

November

There were 12 tornadoes confirmed in the US in November.[1]

November 13–16
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 1 7 2 0 0

An outbreak of mostly strong tornadoes struck areas from the Upper Mississippi Valley to the Southeast. The worst and strongest tornadoes touched down on November 13. An F3 tornado struck Como, Missouri, injuring one. An F2 tornado then struck near Ava and Campbell Hill, Illinois, injuring seven. This was followed by a short-lived, but strong F2 tornado that caused considerable damage in Downtown Gary, Indiana. The worst tornado then occurred in Kentucky, where an F3 twister struck Calvert City and Gilbertsville, killing one and injuring 11. Overall, 10 tornadoes touched down, killing one and injuring 28.[1]

December

There were 10 tornadoes confirmed in the US in December.[1]

December 6
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 0 1 0 1 0 0

A brief, weak F1 tornado touched down south-southwest of Junction City, Oregon, causing no casualties. This was not the case in Illinois, where an F3 tornado moved through Spring Valley and Mendota, killing one and injuring another.[1]

gollark: I also had the idea of Discworld-style semaphore-tower networks driven by magical systems instead of human operators, but that would probably also be too complex to implement.
gollark: I see. It's kind of hard trying to figure out what sort of modern stuff would work in a world where most of the stuff we kind of assume exists doesn't.
gollark: I was reading the telegraph thing, and wondering if they could practically do radio, or if that would need too much power or electronics knowledge/capability.
gollark: Maybe they need Morey *and* Cato?
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See also

References
  1. "Tornado History Project: 1951". www.tornadohistoryproject.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
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