Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916

Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916
Weather analysis on June 5
Tornado outbreak
Tornadoes≥ 35
Max. rating
F4 tornado
DurationJune 5–6, 1916
Overall effects
Fatalities≥ 143
Injuries≥ 756
Damage> $170,000 ($5,030,000 in 2025 USD)
Areas affectedSouthern United States
Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1916

On June 5–6, 1916, a deadly severe-weather episode produced at least 35 tornadoes across the Southern United States on June 5–6, 1916. The outbreak killed at least 143 people, 93 of them in the U.S. state of Arkansas alone. In Missouri tornadoes killed at least 30 people. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a powerful F4 that hit Heber Springs on June 5, killing 25 people; tied with it was an F3 that also took 25 lives in and near Judsonia. Overnight tornadoes spread southeast into Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with an F3 tornado hitting the northern suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, killing 13 people there.

Outbreak statistics

Outbreak death toll
State Total
Alabama 1
Arkansas 93
Illinois 1
Mississippi 17
Missouri 30
Tennessee 1
Totals 143
All deaths were tornado-related

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
? ? 1 20 13 1 0 ≥ 35

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. 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. 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.

June 5 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Monday, June 5, 1916
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Width Damage
F2 NNE of Ozark Franklin AR 19:30–? Unknown 400 yd (370 m) Unknown
1 death – A tornado wrecked three homes, injuring five people.
F2 Southern Hot Springs Garland AR 20:15–? 8 mi (13 km) 200 yd (180 m) Unknown
4 deaths – A tornado tracked parabolically through town, roughly paralleling an F4 tornado that killed 10 people in the city on November 25, 1915. It damaged 200 houses, one of which it left in front of a train. 20 injuries occurred.
F2 E of Greenland Washington AR 20:30–? 4 mi (6.4 km) 100 yd (91 m) Unknown
1 death – A tornado hit a small community, damaging or destroying 12 houses. It also struck three plantations and destroyed several tenant houses. 12 people were injured.
F3 N of Morrilton to Guy Conway, Faulkner AR 20:45–? 30 mi (48 km) 400 yd (370 m) Unknown
2+ deaths – A tornado first tore apart nine homes in the Germantown community. It then destroyed or damaged 20 more structures at Guy. 20 injuries occurred. One person was "blown away" and presumed missing, the New York Times reported.
F2 Brewer Cleburne AR 21:00–? Unknown Unknown Unknown
A tornado struck Brewer, impacting all 47 buildings there. Four people were injured.
F4 Near Barney to northwestern Heber Springs to S of Almond Faulkner, Cleburne AR 22:00–? 35 mi (56 km) 400 yd (370 m) Unknown
25+ deaths – This tornado family first killed three people between Barney and Beckette Mountain, west of Rose Bud. It then destroyed 50 houses in Heber Springs, "dozens" of which it leveled, claiming 18 or more lives there, per tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis, and left in ruins the western side of town. Afterward, it flattened another house near Banner, killing four people inside. Papers from Beckette Mountain traveled 55 mi (89 km). 150 injuries occurred, and of those killed, two thirds were children.
F2 SE of Melbourne to Sage Izard AR 22:00–? 5 mi (8.0 km) Unknown Unknown
A tornado destroyed many barns, injuring a few people.
F3 E of Dalark to N of Carthage Dallas AR 23:00–? 15 mi (24 km) 800 yd (730 m) Unknown
5 deaths – A tornado first flattened a small house, killing five family members inside, before inflicting minor damage at Carthage. Three injuries occurred.
F2 E of Cato Pulaski AR 23:00–? 2 mi (3.2 km) 100 yd (91 m) Unknown
A tornado hit a pair of farms, destroying three homes and injuring five people.
F2 Western Little Rock Pulaski AR 23:00–? 1 mi (1.6 km) 200 yd (180 m) Unknown
This tornado unroofed homes in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood.
F2 S of Cabot Lonoke AR 23:15–? 10 mi (16 km) 200 yd (180 m) Unknown
3+ deaths – A tornado ripped apart a home, killing its two occupants. 22 people were injured, a few of whom may have died weeks later, and a third death was reported.
F2 Alvis Independence AR 23:30–? 1 mi (1.6 km) Unknown Unknown
This tornado destroyed many barns and a few homes, injuring a person.
F3 Between Kensett and Judsonia to near Bald Knob White AR 23:30–? 4 mi (6.4 km) 300 yd (270 m) Unknown
25 deaths – An intense tornado destroyed a third of Judsonia, striking the eastern side of town. At least 50 injuries occurred, and a family lost five of its members. Grazulis indicated nine deaths and 35 injuries, but press totals were much higher.
F2 Near Sweet Home to Kerr Pulaski, Lonoke AR 23:30–? 15 mi (24 km) Unknown Unknown
1 death – A tornado hit half a dozen farms, destroying houses and other structures. It passed through the Galloway–Baucum area. Five injuries occurred.
F2 Near McMullin and Vanduser Scott MO 23:30–? Unknown Unknown Unknown
Visible from a train, this tornado destroyed small houses, barns, and a nearby school. Three injuries occurred.
F2 Unknown Sharp AR 23:45–? 5 mi (8.0 km) Unknown Unknown
A tornado wrecked barns and houses on six farms, injuring three people.
F2 NW of Stuttgart Arkansas AR 00:00–? Unknown Unknown Unknown
A tornado destroyed barns.
F2 NW of Slovak to S of Hazen to near DeValls Bluff Prairie AR 00:00–? 10 mi (16 km) 300 yd (270 m) Unknown
4 deaths – A tornado hit tenant homes, injuring 42 people, including 15 near Slovak.
F3 N of Tuckerman Jackson AR 00:30–? 10 mi (16 km) 100 yd (91 m) Unknown
4 deaths – An intense tornado obliterated tenant homes, moving bodies up to 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km) away, killing three family members, and injuring 40 people.
F3 NW of Brinkley Monroe AR 00:30–? 2 mi (3.2 km) 100 yd (91 m) Unknown
1 death – A tornado wrecked a cotton gin and eight small homes, carrying the dead 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km), along with his house. 10 injuries occurred.
F3 SE of Vallier Arkansas AR 01:00–? 5 mi (8.0 km) Unknown Unknown
2 deaths – This tornado hit two plantations, causing separate deaths. Eight injuries occurred.
F3 Stoddard to W of Bloomfield Stoddard MO 01:30–? 7 mi (11 km) Unknown Unknown
8 deaths – A tornado destroyed homes, causing deaths in five families. 20 injuries occurred.
F2 W of Imboden (AR) to near Flatwoods (MO) Lawrence (AR), Randolph (AR), Ripley (MO) AR, MO 01:30–? 45 mi (72 km) Unknown Unknown
1 death – A tornado family hit a farmhouse, claiming a life, and wrecked buildings in Arkansas, before causing sporadic damage in Missouri, where it destroyed barns near Poynor (then Poynter). 10 injuries occurred.
F1 N of Vanndale to Weona Junction Cross, Poinsett AR 02:00–? 20 mi (32 km) 300 yd (270 m) Unknown
2 deaths – A tornado blew a tree onto a boarding house, killing two women and injuring 13 other people inside. Four additional injuries occurred elsewhere.
F3 N of Rector to between St. Francis and Pollard Clay AR 02:00–? 9 mi (14 km) 100 yd (91 m) Unknown
7 deaths – A tornado destroyed small houses, causing deaths in three of them; four children lost their lives. 25 injuries occurred.
F2 S of Dubberly Webster LA 02:00–? Unknown Unknown Unknown
A tornado wrecked small houses, injuring five people.
F3 SW of Haynes to SE of Forrest City Lee, St. Francis AR 02:00–? 11 mi (18 km) Unknown Unknown
4 deaths – A tornado wrecked 16 tenant homes on three large farms, causing deaths on one of them. 40 injuries occurred.
F3 SSW of Morehouse to near Big Ridge Stoddard, New Madrid, Scott MO 03:30–? ≥ 8 mi (13 km) Unknown Unknown
7 deaths – A tornado obliterated three houses, killing six people in one of them, while ripping apart 15 barns and seven more houses; a seventh person died weeks later. 17 injuries occurred. The tornado may have continued to Kelso.
F3 W of Miner (MO) to Blodgett (MO) to Fayville (IL) Scott (MO), Alexander (IL) MO, IL 04:00–? 30 mi (48 km) 200 yd (180 m) Unknown
5 deaths – A tornado destroyed much of Blodgett, injuring five people there, along with 11 houses at Fayville, where it injured 20 people and killed a girl. Four other deaths—a few by airborne debris, two more in houses—occurred elsewhere, along with many rural injuries. In all 60 injuries occurred.
F2 N of Marion (AR) to SW of Munford (TN) Critttenden (AR), Tipton (TN) AR, TN 04:00–? 25 mi (40 km) 300 yd (270 m) Unknown
2+ deaths – A tornado destroyed at least 20 houses in Missouri, along with a barn and house in Tennessee, causing a death in each state. At least 63 injuries were tornado-related. Stormy weather, dubbed an "electric tornado", on the Mississippi River snapped 20-inch-diameter (1.7 ft; 0.51 m) trees and caused the packet boat Eleonore to capsize, drowning 19–34 people, but could not be definitively attributed to the tornado.

June 6 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, June 6, 1916
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Width Damage
F3 S of Yokena Warren MS 05:30–? 10 mi (16 km) 250 yd (230 m) $20,000
4 deaths – A tornado leveled tenant houses, moving bodies 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) and injuring 25 people.
F2 Oak Grove West Carroll LA 05:45–? Unknown 50 yd (46 m) Unknown
A tornado destroyed two houses, a Masonic lodge, and a Methodist church, injuring five people.
F3 Northwestern Jackson Hinds, Madison MS 07:10–? 15 mi (24 km) 100 yd (91 m) $150,000
13 deaths – This tornado damaged or destroyed approximately 250 houses, of which it leveled smaller ones, while tearing roofs and chimneys from larger, better-built buildings. 56 injuries occurred.
F2 Near Pineville Smith MS 09:30–? 2 mi (3.2 km) 50 yd (46 m) Unknown
A narrow, brief tornado wrecked rural barns and homes, injuring three people.
F2 Taylors Ferry Jefferson AL 17:00–? 7.5 mi (12.1 km) 200 yd (180 m) Unknown
A tornado demolished four homes, injuring five people.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ All losses are in 1916 United States dollars 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.
  3. ↑ 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. Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life. 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.
  4. 1 2 3 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. Tornado ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service. While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007, Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013; nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.
  5. 1 2 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.
  6. 1 2 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. 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.

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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Written at Kansas City, Missouri. "Over 100 lives lost in Southern storm". New York Times. Vol. 65, no. 21319. New York City (published June 7, 1916). June 6, 1916. p. 11. ProQuest 97927958.
  3. 1 2 "Death toll by tornadoes is 107". Kansas City Weekly Journal. Vol. 60, no. 36 (Weekly ed.). Kansas City, Missouri. June 8, 1916. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  4. ↑ Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1496.
  5. ↑ Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
  8. ↑ Agee and Childs 2014, pp. 1497, 1503.
  9. ↑ Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
  10. ↑ Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
  11. ↑ Edwards et al. 2013, p. 641–642.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "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.
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1494.
  16. ↑ Brooks 2004, p. 310.
  17. ↑ Grazulis 1990, p. ix.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Grazulis 1993, p. 747.
  19. ↑ Grazulis 1993, pp. 745, 747.
  20. ↑ Grazulis 1984, p. A-28.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Grazulis 1993, p. 748.

Sources