1957 Fargo tornado

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1957 Fargo Tornado

Picture of the F5 tornado as it nears Hector International Airport.

Date of tornado outbreak:

June 20-23, 1957

Duration¹:

3 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes

Maximum rated tornado²:

F5 tornado

Tornadoes caused:

23 confirmed

Damages:

$25.883 million (1957 USD) $198.16 million (2008 USD)

Fatalities:

Areas affected:

Midwest

¹Time from first tornado to last tornado
²Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita Scale

1 1957 Fargo tornado
- 1.1 June 20 event
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] 1957 Fargo tornado

The 1957 Fargo tornado was a violent and deadly tornado that struck Fargo, North Dakota on June 20, 1957. The tornado struck the north Fargo (Golden Ridge) area in the early evening hours, causing major devastation. Damage was extensive including 100 blocks of Fargo. The worst residential damage occurred in the Golden Ridge Subdivision. Approximately 329 homes were destroyed and some of them were completely swept off their foundations - a classic example of F5 damage. Another 1035 homes were damaged. Fifteen farm homes were destroyed and 25 damaged. Four churches and Shanley High School were destroyed and two schools were damaged. Fifteen businesses were destroyed and 30 suffered major damage. These were mainly small local shops. Two hundred automobiles were destroyed and 300 damaged^[1].

In the end, ten people lost their lives. After 1971, when Dr. Ted Fujita introduced his scale that rates tornadoes based on the damage they cause, the Fargo tornado received an F5 rating, the most severe level. The tornado had a long track which started in North Dakota, traveled 27.4 miles to the Minnesota border and continued on for another 25 miles. The total track length of the tornado was 57.4 miles and at its widest, it was almost a mile in diameter. This tornado was part of a family of tornadoes which was spawned by a supercell thunderstorm that moved through most of North Dakota and into parts of Minnesota.^[2] It was the northernmost confirmed F5 tornado until the Elie, Manitoba Tornado on June 22, 2007.

Debris from the tornado was found as far as western Minnesota, over 50 miles (80 km) east of Fargo in Becker County.

This tornado is considered the most devastating in North Dakota history, and was one of only two F5 tornadoes that have struck the state, the other occurring four years earlier in 1953.

In June of 2007, the 50th anniversary of the tornado was commemorated by the Fargo Forum, which ran a week-long series of stories on the tornado.

Confirmed tornadoes====

7 Tornadoes were confirmed but were not given an F-Scale intensity

Confirmed Total	Confirmed F0	Confirmed F1	Confirmed F2	Confirmed F3	Confirmed F4	Confirmed F5
23	3	6	5	1	0	1

[edit] June 20 event

F#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
North Dakota
F2	W of Albertha Township	Dickey	46°06′N 98°06′W / 46.1, -98.1	0030	2 miles (3.2 km)	Brief touchdown, caused $25,000 in damages.
F?	Near Durbin Township	Cass	46°42′N 97°00′W / 46.7, -97	0030	0.1 miles (0.2 km)	Brief touchdown, no damage reported. Tornado was confirmed but was not given an F-Scale intensity.
F5	Fargo area	Cass, Clay (MN)	46°54′N 97°21′W / 46.9, -97.35	0040	52.4 miles (84.3 km)	10 Deaths 103 Injuries A large tornado struck Fargo from the west at speeds of only 10 mph. It leveled the area of Golden Ridge ripping homes from their foundations, representing F5 damage. As the tornado continued it destroyed several parts of the city killing 10 people and injuring more than 100. It swept many buildings form their foundations as it continued. It destroyed more than 1000 homes & businesses also. It was the worst tornado of the outbreak. See section on this tornado
F3	W of Nelson	Barns, Stutsman		0055	13.2 miles (21.2 km)
F1	Near Abercrombie	Richland		0136	2.3 miles (3.7 km)	Small tornado estimated at 1/2 mile in width destroyed 2 barns in the county.