Colfax, Wisconsin tornado outbreak

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Colfax, Wisconsin tornado outbreak
Date of tornado outbreak: June 4, 1958
Duration1: ~4 hours
Maximum rated tornado2: F5 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 9
Damages: $10 million [1]
Fatalities: 28
Areas affected: Wisconsin, Minnesota

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


The Colfax, Wisconsin tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck portions of northwestern Wisconsin on June 4, 1958. The outbreak which started in central Minnesota killed at least 28 people, all in Wisconsin as part of one of the worst tornado outbreaks ever to struck that state.

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[edit] Event

Tornadoes first touched down during the second half of the afternoon across central Minnesota west of St. Cloud destroying barns and toppling trees but no fatalities were reported.[2] The thunderstorms raced eastward at 50 mph through the Twin Cities area and intensified shortly after crossing the Minnesota-Wisconsin State line after 5:00 PM CDT.[3]

The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was an F5 that struck the Colfax area in Dunn County at around 6:00 PM CDT. The tornado touched down south of Interstate 94 near Baldwin in St. Croix County the same county affected by the New Richmond Tornado on June 12, 1899 which killed 117 in the New Richmond. The F5 storm traveled for about 33 miles across St. Croix and Dunn Counties passed through or near the Wilson, Knapp, Tainter Lake, Cedar Falls and Norton areas just north Menomonie before producing the worst damage in Colfax. A few minutes later the tornado dissipated just west of US Route 53 near Bloomer.

The F5 tornado itself killed at least 21 and injured 74, making it the deadliest tornadoes since 1950 and one of the deadliest of all-time in Wisconsin.[4] 12 of the fatalities were in Colfax alone where damaged was estimated at $2 million including about half of the buildings in that town flattened.[5] About 432 farms were damaged or destroyed while another 1032 buildings were also damaged or destroyed. 24 of the 25 homes in Cedar Falls were completely demolished as well. Debris was found as far as 75 miles away in Sheldon. The same area was also hit by a deadly tornado in 1930 which however struck the center of Menomonie slightly to the south of the 1958 tornado track. That tornado killed at least six. An F3 tornado on May 24 also affected the immediate region causing heavy damage but no fatalities.[6][7]

7 other people in Wisconsin were killed by two other tornadoes bring the total death toll for that day to 28 with damage estimated at $10 million. The first one occurred just 7:00 PM CDT north of Eau Claire in the Chippewa Falls area. The 11-mile long F4 tornado killed 3 and injured 50. The second one, also an F4 affected areas east of Eau Claire before 8:00 PM CDT. The storm traveled for nearly 60 miles across Eau Claire, Clark and Marathon counties before lifting near Wausau killing 4. The last tornado of the outbreak touched down in Rusk and Sawyer Counties north of Ladysmith shortly after 8:00 PM CDT.[8]

The storms, in addition to the fatalities and destruction also cut utility and communication services through the region thus isolating many communities until help was provided from several areas including from the Twin Cities region about an hour west of the affected areas.[9]

Then Governor of Wisconsin Vernon Thomson ordered three groups of National Guard troops in the affected area for rescue and rehabilitation duties.[10]

It was the official F5 tornado to strike the state since records were made official in 1950 although the New Richmond Tornado of 1899 produced damage similar to an F5. The next F5 tornado to struck Wisconsin was on June 7, 1984 when a tornado completely destroyed Barneveld killing 9.[11]

[edit] Tornado table

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
9 2 1 2 1 2 1

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Minnesota
F2 S of Albany to N of St. Joseph Stearns 2220 13.3 miles
(21.3 km)
F1 W of St. Martin Stearns 2220 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F0 N of Roscoe Stearns 2220 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
Wisconsin
F5 SW of Woodville to NE of Colfax St. Croix, Dunn 2330 33.7 miles
(53.9 km)		 21 deaths
F4 Chippewa Falls Chippewa 0045 11.1 miles
(17.8 km)		 3 deaths
F3 Cadott area Chippewa 0100 4.3 miles
(6.9 km)
F4 NE of Fall Creek to W of Wien Eau Claire, Clark, Marathon 0130 59.2 miles
(94.7 km)		 4 deaths
F2 NE of New Brighton Rusk, Sawyer 0210 13.8 miles
(22.1 km)
Nebraska
F0 W of Milford Seward 0100 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
Source: Tornado History Project - June 4, 1958 Storm Data

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.cvmuseum.com/r-1958tornado.pdf
  2. ^ Various Towns in Northwest WI, Terrible Tornado, June 1958 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods
  3. ^ Tornado Database, Tornado Maps, Tornado Paths
  4. ^ Tornado Database, Tornado Maps, Tornado Paths
  5. ^ Various Towns in Northwest WI, Terrible Tornado, June 1958 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods
  6. ^ Tornado History Project - Tornado Map
  7. ^ Our Story, Vol V - Colfax tornado cuts deadly swath
  8. ^ Tornado Database, Tornado Maps, Tornado Paths
  9. ^ Our Story, Vol V - Colfax tornado cuts deadly swath
  10. ^ Various Towns in Northwest WI, Terrible Tornado, June 1958 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods
  11. ^ F5 and EF5 Tornadoes of the United States - 1950-present (SPC)

[edit] External links