Glazier-Higgins-Woodward Tornadoes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deadliest tornadoes in United States history Death counts before 1900 may be approximate
Rank	Tornado	Date	Deaths
1	"Tri-State"	March 18, 1925	695
2	Natchez, MS	May 6, 1840	317
3	St. Louis and East St. Louis	May 27, 1896	255
4	Tupelo, MS	April 5, 1936	216
5	Gainesville, GA	April 5, 1936	203
6	Woodward, OK	April 9, 1947	181
7	Amite, LA and Purvis, MS	April 24, 1908	143
8	New Richmond, WI	June 12, 1899	117
9	Flint, MI	June 8, 1953	115
10	Waco, TX	May 11, 1953	114
10	Goliad, TX	May 18, 1902	114
Source: Storm Prediction Center

The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward Tornadoes were a system of related tornadoes that swept through Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas on April 9, 1947. The event was similar to the Tri-State Tornado two decades before, in that it appeared to observers to be a single, very long-lived tornado. Later analysis suggests that it was actually a multiple-tornado outbreak. These tornadoes, although deadly, did not match the astounding death toll of the earlier event, nor did they match the record speed of that tornado, although at over 40 mph (64 km/h), they qualified as a fast tracking storm.

The tornadoes began in Texas. Just after the White Deer tornado dissipated, the first tornado of this event formed five miles northwest of Pampa, Texas. The series of tornadoes would cut a path of destruction through three states, ending near St. Leo, Kansas. In Texas, the funnel passed northwest of Canadian. When it struck the tiny town of Glazier, it may have been as much as two miles wide. Press reports told of two people who were known to be together in Glazier before the tornado struck were found three miles apart afterward. Glazier was considered completely destroyed, with 17 dead, a major percentage of the populace. Much of Higgins, Texas, on the Texas-Oklahoma border, was also destroyed--the accepted death toll here was 51; again, a major fraction of the residents of the town were killed or injured.

The tornadoes were at their worst in Oklahoma--this was the deadliest storm in that state's tornado-troubled history. Six more people were killed when the tornado passed south of Shattuck, Gage, and Fargo. The tornado then moved into Woodward, where it killed an estimated 107 people. The damage track in Woodward was two miles wide and destroyed 100 city blocks.

As the storm moved into Kansas, it weakened, although serious damage was reported in Barber County before it finally dissipated north of Kingman County. Cleanup in the region was made more difficult because of cold and snow that followed the tornado. The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward tornadoes were the 6th deadliest in U.S. history, killing 181 and injuring 970.

[edit] References

Thomas P. Grazulis (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991, A Chronology and Analysis of Events. The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-00-7 (hardcover)
Richard Bedard (1997). In the Shadow of the Tornado. Gilco Publishing. ISBN 0-9649527-1-8 (paperback)