Tornado outbreak sequence of Early-December 1953

The first six days of December 1953 produced a destructive and deadly tornado outbreak sequence[nb 1] across the Southern United States. There were 19 confirmed tornadoes, including a violent F4 tornado that hit the northwest side of Alexandria, Louisiana and even more violent F5 tornado that hit Vicksburg, Mississippi. In all, the tornadoes killed 49 people, injured 404 others, and caused $45.709 million (1953 USD) in damage. This was the last in a series of deadly and catastrophic outbreaks to strike the US in 1953.

Early–December 1953 tornado outbreak sequence

Vicksburg Sunday Post-Herald showing the destruction in Vicksburg
Formed	December 1, 1953
Duration	6 days
Dissipated	December 6, 1953
Lowest temperature	31 °F (−1 °C) Vicksburg, MS on December 6.
Tornadoes confirmed	19
Max. rating^1	F5 tornado
Damage	$45.709 million (1953 USD) $360 million (2021 USD)[1]
Casualties	49 fatalities, 404 injuries
Areas affected	Southeastern United States
Part of tornado outbreaks of 1953 ^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Background

1953 had already been extremely deadly tornado season due to multiple outbreaks that affected a vast majority of the country in the Spring and Early-Summer. In particular, tornadoes in Waco, Texas, Flint, Michigan, and Worcester, Massachusetts had taken 324 lives and injured thousands more. Tornado activity had slowed down heading into July, however, with no fatal tornadoes having occurred from July to November.[3] Climatologically, however, the Southeast can routinely provide favorable conditions for tornado outbreaks in the Winter months and on December 1, 1953, a mile-wide F3 tornado southeast of Seguin, Texas kicked off six straight days of active and deadly tornado activity.[4][5]

Meteorological synopsis

At least three low-pressure systems formed and moved northward over the Great Plains. Adequate moisture and wind shear on the warm side of the system allowed for repeated rounds of severe and tornadic supercells and squall lines over a six day period. The outbreak ended as an surface anti-cyclone pushed through the region.[6]

Daily statistics

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	0	4	10	3	1	1	19

Daily statistics of tornadoes produced by the tornado outbreak sequence of Early-December 1953

Date	Total	Fujita scale rating							Deaths	Injuries	Damage	Ref.
		FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
December 1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10	$250,000	[1][7][8]
December 2	7	0	0	3	3	1	0	0	2	12	$62,750	[1][7][8]
December 3	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	9	73	$20,050,000	[1][7][8]
December 4	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$25,000	[1][7][8]
December 5	4	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	38	308	$25,350,000	[1][7][8]
December 6	3	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	$52,500	[1][7][8]
Total	19	0	0	4	10	3	1	1	49	404	$45,709,000	[1][7][8]

Death toll[1]

State	Total	County/ Parish	County/ Parish total
Texas	2	Washington	2
Louisiana	9	Vernon	7
		La Salle	2
Mississippi	38	Warren	38
Totals	49
All deaths were tornado-related

Confirmed Tornadoes

December 1 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, December 1, 1953[nb 2][nb 3]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary	Refs
F3	SE of Seguin	Guadalupe	TX	29.50°N 97.93°W	01:00–?	5.1 mi (8.2 km)	1,760 yd (1,610 m)	Seven homes were destroyed and seven others were damaged, 10 people were injured, and damages were estimated at $250,000.[nb 4] Grazulis classified the tornado as an F2.	[6][10][11] [12]

December 2 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, December 2, 1953[nb 2][nb 3]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary	Refs
F3	Tanglewood	Lee	TX	30.50°N 96.97°W	12:15–?	3.3 mi (5.3 km)	100 yd (91 m)	Four people were injured and $25,000 in damage was inflicted by this unusual northwest-moving tornado. A total of five structures were destroyed, including a few churches and three homes. Grazulis classified the tornado as an F2.	[13][14][12]
F2	Lane City	Wharton	TX	29.20°N 96.03°W	16:30–?	1.5 mi (2.4 km)	200 yd (180 m)	Tornado moved northward through Lane City, pushing two farm houses off their foundation. There was $2,500 in damage.	[6][15][16]
F2	W of Navasota	Washington	TX	30.37°N 96.18°W	19:35–?	0.1 mi (0.16 km)	50 yd (46 m)	2 deaths – The deaths occurred in a home that was completely destroyed. A barn was demolished and a windmill and two other homes were damaged as well. Five people were injured and damages were estimated at $250.	[6][17][18] [12]
F1	Pollok	Angelina	TX	31.43°N 94.90°W	20:45–?	2.7 mi (4.3 km)	100 yd (91 m)	Tornado struck the town of Pollok. Three homes were unroofed, two garages were damaged, two other homes were "blown out of plumb", and a dwelling was moved off its foundation. Damage was estimated at $2,500.	[6][19][20]
F2	WSW of Bryan	Brazos	TX	30.63°N 96.48°W	21:30–?	0.2 mi (0.32 km)	67 yd (61 m)	A strong tornado struck near Bryan Air Force Base, completely obliterating a home. Damage was estimated at $25,000.	[6][21][22] [12]
F1	ENE of Lone Grove to Dougherty to Sulphur to WNW of Hickory	Carter, Murray	OK	34.37°N 97.07°W	01:30–?	31.4 mi (50.5 km)	880 yd (800 m)	Long-tracked, large tornado, which may have been a tornado family, accompanied by light hail, which caused no damage, moved northeastward. The path was not continuous as the tornado touched down multiple times at intervals. West of Ardmore the tornado caused about $2,000 in damage and injured one. In Sulphur, the tornado caused about $3,000 in damage and injured another person. Overall, the tornado caused $5,000 in damages and two injuries in Murray County.	[6][23][24] [25]
F1	Shawnee	Pottawatomie	OK	35.33°N 96.92°W	03:30–?	1.5 mi (2.4 km)	880 yd (800 m)	Large, but weak tornado moved northeastward directly through Shawnee, leaving behind a well-defined path of mostly minor damage. It caused $2,500 in damages and an injury.	[6][26][27]

December 3 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Thursday, December 3, 1953[nb 2][nb 3]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary	Refs
F4	Fort Polk to Northwestern Alexandria to Dry Prong to Tullos	Vernon, Rapides, Grant, La Salle	LA	31.07°N 93.05°W	07:00–09:15	85.5 mi (137.6 km)	300 yd (270 m)	9 deaths – See section on this tornado – A total of 50 people were injured.	[28][29][30] [31][32][33] [34][35][8]
F2	SE of South Mansfield	Winn	LA	32.00°N 93.70°W	09:00–?	1 mi (1.6 km)	100 yd (91 m)	Low-end F2 tornado caused three injuries and $25,000 in damage. Only one home was destroyed.	[36][37][38]
F3	W of Fitler to Cary to ENE of Rolling Fork	Issaquena, Sharkey	MS	32.73°N 91.07°W	11:30–?	18.8 mi (30.3 km)	300 yd (270 m)	This strong tornado touched down over the Mississippi River along the Mississippi-Louisiana border and proceeded northeast, causing major damage as it passed near the town of Cary. A total of 34 homes and cars were destroyed or damaged and 20 people were injured (all in Issequena County) and damages reached $2.75 million.	[39][40][41] [38]

December 4 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Friday, December 4, 1953[nb 2][nb 3]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary	Refs
F2	Mt. Bethel	Cobb	GA	33.97°N 84.42°W	22:35–?	1 mi (1.6 km)	100 yd (91 m)	Strong tornado struck south of East Cobb in the Northern Suburbs of Atlanta. It first struck between churches and schools, causing no damage. Shingles were then blown off several homes and a store, and a small garage was shaken from its foundation. The most damage occurred at the Parkaire Airport, where three hangars and 20 or more airplanes heavily damaged. Overall, there was $25,000 in damage.	[6][42][43]

December 5 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, December 5, 1953[nb 2][nb 3]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary	Refs
F2	Bernice to S of Mount Union	Union	LA	32.80°N 92.67°W	22:00–?	9.7 mi (15.6 km)	33 yd (30 m)	This strong tornado destroyed or badly damaged four homes as it affected rural areas south of Spearsville. A number of other homes and structures incurred lesser damage as well. A total of 16 people sustained injuries and losses totaled $25,000.	[8][44][45] [46]
F2	N of Spencer to NNW of Cosgrove, AR	Union (LA), Morehouse (LA), Ashley (AR)	LA, AR	32.75°N 92.13°W	23:00–00:00	58.3 mi (93.8 km)	880 yd (800 m)	This strong, long-tracked tornado family may have begun in Ouachita Parish and continued to near Rocky Branch, where "heavy damage" reportedly occurred to some homes. The tornado destroyed or extensively damaged 14 homes near Spencer, and "at least" 14 people may have been injured there, though some of the injuries are not officially listed. Heavy damage also occurred in between Beekman and Stevenson. Later after passing near Portland, Arkansas, the tornado passed very near Montrose, destroying nine more homes before dissipating. In all, the tornado injured 11 people (All in Union Parish) and losses totaled $300,000. Tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis and NWS Jackson classified this tornado as an F3.	[7][8][44] [47][48][49] [50][51][52]
F5	SW of Vicksburg to SW of Villanova	Warren	MS	32.33°N 90.90°W	23:31–?	9 mi (14 km)	500 yd (460 m)	38 deaths – See section on this tornado – 270 people were injured and damages reached $25 million. Some tornado experts dispute the rating, claiming that the tornado was an F4.	[53][54]
F2	SW of Sherard to NNE of Fair Landing, AR	Coahoma	MS	34.20°N 90.73°W	02:15–?	8.2 mi (13.2 km)	30 yd (27 m)	This tornado may have first touched down in Deeson, Bolivar County; however, damage officially began west of Clarksdale, from this odd-northwestward moving tornado. In all, the tornado damaged or destroyed 19 homes, and its total path length may have reached 13 mi (21 km) as it may have begun/ended north of Lyon. A total of 11 people were injured, and losses totaled $25,000.	[8][55][56] [57]

December 6 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, December 6, 1953[nb 2][nb 3]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary	Refs
F1	NW of Headland	Henry	AL	31.38°N 85.40°W	13:00–?	0.1 mi (0.16 km)	10 yd (9.1 m)	Brief tornado with a "black as night" colored funnel occurred in the vicinity of Napier Field, causing $2,500 in damages.	[6][58][59]
F2	E of Headland	Henry	AL	31.37°N 85.27°W	14:00–?	2 mi (3.2 km)	10 yd (9.1 m)	Eyewitness saw this strong tornado form about 100 yards (91 m) from his house. The tornado moved northeastward and damaged 15 homes. There was $25,000 in damage and an injury from the storm.	[6][60][61]
F2	S of Meridian to SSE of Iamonia	Leon	FL	30.62°N 84.28°W	17:00–?	8.4 mi (13.5 km)	10 yd (9.1 m)	Strong tornado mostly remained over the Lake Iamonia, although it still caused damage to several buildings, vehicles, and trees. Losses totaled $25,000.	[6][62][63]

Fort Polk–Northwestern Alexandria–Dry Prong–Tullos, Louisiana

Fort Polk–Northwestern Alexandria–Dry Prong–Tullos, Louisiana

F4 tornado
Max. rating^1	F4 tornado
Damage	$17.5 million
Casualties	9 fatalities, 50 injuries
Areas affected	Central Louisiana
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

This deadly, long-tracked, violent F4 tornado—which was likely a tornado family—moved over an erratic path, devastating areas near Fort Polk, Alexandria, and Georgetown in the Kisatchie National Forest during the early-morning hours of December 3. It first touched down in Fort Polk and moved northeastward towards Alexandria, Louisiana, causing mostly heavy tree damage. It then moved off the Fort, clipping the northwest side of Leander, causing tremendous damage with four homes in Leander incurring F4-level damage.[38][29] Throughout Vernon Parish, the tornado killed seven (all in Leander), injured 20, and caused $2.5 million in damage.[29][64]

The tornado then moved into Rapides Parish, reportedly damaging the town of Hineston.[64] It then moved back into rural areas before striking the town of Otis. It clipped the northwest side of the Claiborne Range before moving over the Kincaid Resivoir into far western Alexandria. As it continued northeastward, major damage was inflicted to the northwest side of city in Lee Heights as well as to the Kingsville neighborhood. At the latter place, the tornado destroyed or damaged 20 homes.[38][30] The tornado then made an abrupt turn to the north-northwest (possibly occluding or reforming), striking the Paradise community east of Tioga causing significant property damage. A trailer with four sleeping highway employees was thrown 100 yards (91 m), although all the people survived.[64] Damage was also inflicted to the present-day town of Ball as well.[31] Throughout Rapides Parish, the tornado injured 10 people and caused $5 million in damage.[30][31]

After entering Grant Parish and striking the site of the Pollock Municipal Airport, the tornado hit the town of Bentley, heavily damaging it. It then paralleled US 167 and struck the town of Dry Prong.[32] From there, the tornado, either through reformation or just a sharp right turn, started traveling northeastward, clipping Western Breezy Hill and Western Lincecum before heavily damaging Mudville as it crossed over US 165 (which at the time was concurrent with LA 24 and LA 14).[33] It then passed through the town of Selma as well as the east side of Georgetown.[34] Throughout Grant Parish, the tornado injured five people and caused $7.5 million in damage.[32][33][34]

The tornado then entered La Salle Parish with catastrophic results. Heavy damage was done in a rural area before the tornado struck Tullos. Damage here was severe as approximately 60 homes were damaged or destroyed, two small children were killed and 15 other people were injured.[8][64] Thousands of trees were damaged in this area as well, many of which were downed or splintered, before the tornado rapidly weakened and dissipated.[8][35] Damage in and around Tullos was estimated at $2.5 million.[35]

The tornado (or tornado family) was on the ground for 2 hours and 15 minutes, tracked 85.5 miles (137.6 km), and had a maximum width of 300 yards (270 m). It killed nine, injured 50, and caused $17.5 million in damage.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][64]

Vicksburg–Waltersville, Mississippi

Vicksburg–Waltersville, Mississippi

F5 tornado
Flood Wall Mural showing the damage in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Max. rating^1	F5 tornado
Damage	$25 million
Casualties	38 fatalities, 270 injuries
Areas affected	Vicksburg and Waltersville in Warren County
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

On December 5, a powerful and destructive tornado touched down over the Yazoo River in Warren County, Mississippi and struck Downtown Vicksburg, causing major devastation throughout the city.[54][65] It destroyed electrical services and multiple buildings in and around downtown, ignited several fires, and totaled numerous automobiles.[48][66][67] In total, 38 people were killed, 270 others received injuries, and total damages were estimated at $25 million.[1][8][65][66] The tornado is officially estimated to have been an F5 tornado on the Fujita scale; however, the rating is questionable, since the tornado demolished frail structures.[68] Tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis classified the tornado as an F4.[8]

Non-tornadic effects

On December 1, severe thunderstorm winds destroyed several barns and chicken houses, damaged a house, and blew down a few trees in Huntsville, Texas. Several fronts produced strong winds throughout various regions on December 4, causing severe damage and several casualties. In Southeastern Wisconsin, one person was killed and another was injured while in Central Arizona, there were seven injuries and one death.[6] Additionally, severe thunderstorm winds injured seven people near Clarksdale, Mississippi on December 5.[69]

Aftermath and recovery

1953 Vicksburg Tornado Memorial Plaque.

The F4 tornado in Louisiana temporarily knocked out power to the Alexandria area, hampering communications. At one point the twister was actually headed directly towards the downtown area, but fortunately narrowly missed it as well the VA hospital five miles north of the city. No one was injured and no property damage was reported there or in the city.[64]

In Vicksburg, Mississippi, the F5 tornado broke the city's gas line, which remained out of service after repairs.[70] Residents were forced to go without cooked food even as temperatures dropped to 31 °F (−1 °C) overnight on December 6.[70]

See also

• Candlestick Park tornado – Another powerful F5 tornado that devastated portions of Jackson, Mississippi
• 2011 Philadelphia, Mississippi tornado – First of two EF5 tornadoes in Mississippi during the 2011 Super Outbreak
• 2011 Smithville, Mississippi tornado – Second of two EF5 tornadoes in Mississippi during the 2011 Super Outbreak
• List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

Notes

1. 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.[2]
2. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.
3. Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[9]
4. All losses are in 1953 USD unless otherwise noted.

References

1. National Weather Service (August 2019). Tornado Summaries (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
2. Schneider, Russell S.; Brooks, Harold E.; Schaefer, Joseph T. (2004). Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875-2003) (PDF). 22nd Conference on Severe Local Storms. Hyannis, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
3. "1953 Tornadoes". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
4. "All December Tornadoes". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
5. "December 1953 Tornadoes". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
6. "Climatological Data National Summary Publication | IPS | National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)". www.ncdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
7. U.S. Weather Bureau (December 1953). "Severe Storms". Climatological Data National Summary. Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 4 (12): 380–1.
8. Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. pp. 975–976. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
9. Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. Boston: American Meteorological Society. 19 (2): 310. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
10. "Texas F3". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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12. Grazulis 1993, p. 975
13. "Texas F3". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
14. "Texas F3". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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36. "Louisiana F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
37. "Louisiana Event Report: F2 Tornado". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
38. Grazulis 1993, p. 976
39. "Mississippi F3". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
40. "Mississippi Event Report: F3 Tornado". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
41. "Mississippi Event Report: F3 Tornado". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
42. "Georgia F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
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44. USWB 1953, p. 380
45. "Louisiana F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
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47. "December 5, 1953 Beekman-Montrose Tornado". NWS WFO in Jackson, Mississippi. Flowood, Mississippi: National Weather Service. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
48. "More Than 100". Charleston Daily Mail. 1953.
49. "Louisiana-Arkansas F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
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51. "Louisiana Event Report: F2 Tornado". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
52. "Arkansas Event Report: F2 Tornado". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
53. "Mississippi F5". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
54. National Weather Service (August 2019). Mississippi Event Report: F5 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
55. "Mississippi F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
56. National Weather Service (August 2019). Mississippi Event Report: F2 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
57. USWB 1953, p. 381
58. "Alabama F1". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
59. "Alabama Event Report: F1 Tornado". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
60. "Alabama F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
61. "Alabama Event Report: F2 Tornado". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
62. "Florida F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Predicition Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
63. "Florida Event Report: F2 Tornado". NCDC. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
64. "Leander, Tullos, LA Tornado Damage, Dec 1953 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods". www.gendisasters.com.
65. "December 5, 1953 Vicksburg Tornado". NWS WFO in Jackson, Mississippi. Flowood, Mississippi: National Weather Service. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
66. "28 Killed, 230 Hurt as Twister Shakes City of Vicksburg". Beckley Post-Herald. Associated Press. 1953.
67. "Vicksburg Storm". Charleston Daily Mail. 1953.
68. Grazulis, Thomas P. (1991). F5–F6 Tornadoes. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
69. "230 Injured as Tornado Rips Vicksburg, Miss". Charleston Daily Mail. 1953.
70. "Tornado". Newport Daily News. Associated Press. 1953.