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Tornado outbreak of February 11–13, 1950

A deadly tornado outbreak devastated parts of Louisiana and Tennessee on February 11–13, 1950.[nb 2] The outbreak covered about a day and a half and produced numerous tornadoes, mostly from East Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley, with activity concentrated in Texas and Louisiana. Most of the deaths occurred in Louisiana and Tennessee, where tornadoes killed 25 and 9 people, respectively. Several long-lived tornado families struck the Red River region of northwestern Louisiana, especially the Shreveport–Bossier City area. One of the tornadoes attained violent intensity, F4, on the Fujita scale and caused eight deaths, including six at the Shreveport Holding and Reconsignment Depot near Barksdale Air Force Base. It remains one of the top ten deadliest tornadoes on record in the state of Louisiana, in tenth place.[2] Also in Louisiana, two other destructive tornadoes on parallel paths killed 16. Seven additional deaths occurred across the border in East Texas. Nine people died in a tornado in western Tennessee as well. In all, the entire outbreak killed at least 41 people and left 228 injured. Also, several long-tracked tornadoes recorded in the outbreak likely contained more, shorter-lived tornadoes.[3]

Outbreak statistics

Confirmed tornadoes

Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991.[10][nb 6] 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.[14][nb 4] Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.

Non-tornadic effects

A severe thunderstorm generated strong winds just 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) east of Pushmataha, Choctaw County, Alabama, at 6:00 p.m. EST (00:00 UTC) on February 13. The winds felled trees and damaged a trio of homes, one of which was leveled. Almost 18 hours previous barns and a few homes were damaged by strong winds at Marietta, Cass County, Texas. A day earlier hail and wind caused negligible damage to property in and near Winnsboro, Louisiana, as well.[44]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ All losses are in 1957 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.[1]
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ a b 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.[4][5] Tornado ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service.[6] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[7] Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013;[8] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[9]
  5. ^ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Data publication does not list exact damage totals for every event, instead giving damage categories. As such, damage for individual tornadoes is not comprehensive.
  6. ^ 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.[11] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[12] 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.[13]
  7. ^ All starting coordinates are based on the NCEI database and may not reflect contemporary analyses
  8. ^ The listed width values are primarily the average/mean width of the tornadoes, with those having known maximum widths denoted by ♯. From 1952 to 1994, reports largely list mean width whereas contemporary years list maximum width.[15] Values provided by Grazulis are the average width, with estimates being rounded down (i.e. 0.5 mi (0.80 km) is rounded down from 880 yards to 800 yards.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ 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 September 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Grazulis, Thomas P.; Grazulis, Doris (26 April 2000). "The Most "Important" US Tornadoes by State". The Tornado Project Online. The Tornado Project. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  3. ^ Grazulis 1993, pp. 953–954.
  4. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
  5. ^ Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
  6. ^ Edwards et al. 2013, p. 641–642.
  7. ^ Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  8. ^ "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  9. ^ "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. ^ Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1496.
  11. ^ Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
  12. ^ Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  13. ^ Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
  14. ^ Agee and Childs 2014, pp. 1497, 1503.
  15. ^ Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1494.
  16. ^ Brooks 2004, p. 310.
  17. ^ Grazulis 1990, p. ix.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Grazulis 1993, p. 953.
  19. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120402
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k USWB 1950, p. 10.
  21. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, 10120403
  22. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120404
  23. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120405
  24. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120406
  25. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120407
  26. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120408
  27. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120409
  28. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10120410
  29. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032623
  30. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10049524
  31. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #9981923
  32. ^ Grazulis 1984, p. A-59.
  33. ^ Murdock, Scott D. (1998). "Barksdale AFB Off-Base Sites". Scott's USAF Installations Page. Airforcebase.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  34. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032626
  35. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032628
  36. ^ a b c d Grazulis 1993, p. 954.
  37. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032624
  38. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032627
  39. ^ Grazulis 1993, pp. 953–4.
  40. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032625
  41. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032629
  42. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032630
  43. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032632
  44. ^ a b c d e f g USWB 1950, p. 11.
  45. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #9981924
  46. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10032633
  47. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10126026
  48. ^ "F2 Tornado - Fujita Scale". factsjustforkids.com. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  49. ^ Storm Data Publication 1950, #10126027

Sources