Enigma tornado outbreak

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Enigma Outbreak
Date of tornado outbreak: February 19-20, 1884
Duration1: 15 hours
Maximum rated tornado2: F4 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 60+ estimated
Damages: unknown
Fatalities: 178 - 1200
Areas affected: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee

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


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The Enigma outbreak is thought to be among the largest and most widespread tornado outbreaks in American history, striking on February 19 - February 20, 1884.

As the precise number of tornadoes as well as fatalities incurred during the outbreak are unknown, the nickname "Enigma outbreak" has come to be associated with the storm. Nonetheless, an inspection of newspaper reports and governmental studies published in the aftermath reveals tornadoes (or - more likely - long-track tornado families) striking Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with an estimation of at least 50 tornadoes.[1] Some events counted as tornadoes in initial studies such as those by John Park Finley were downbursts, especially in northern and northeastern portions of the outbreak.[1]

The majority of reported tornado activity was seen across Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, which were all struck severely by multiple waves of tornado families. In the Southeast, the outbreak began during the late morning in Mississippi, preceded by severe thunderstorms in Louisiana.[2] Shortly thereafter, the outbreak widened and intensified, progressing from Alabama to Virginia between noon and midnight.[3]

Elsewhere, wind damage, flash flood (with homes swept away by water in Louisville, KY, New Albany and Jeffersonville, IN and other towns along the Ohio River) and derecho-like effects in the Ohio Valley were also reported in published accounts of the outbreak. Blizzard conditions occurred in the upper Midwest.[4]

According to an article appearing in the Statesville (NC) Landmark three days later, the damage tally in Georgia alone was estimated to be $1 million, in 1884 dollars.[5] Tabulations from 1884 estimate a total of $3-4 million in tornado damage (with an unknown amount of flood and other damage), with 10,000 structures destroyed.[6]

Contents

[edit] February 19 event

F# Location County Time (EST) Path length Damage
Mississippi
F? Louisville Winston Two homes and a mill destroyed.
F? S of Columbus Lowndes MS, Pickens AL 11:30 AM 25 miles (40 km)
 1 Death. Sharecropper cabins destroyed, with heavy damage to farms near Columbus.[7][8]
Alabama
F? 3 S of Rockford to E of Goodwater Coosa 12:30 PM 20 miles (32 km)
 15 injuries. Fires erupted in Goodwater after the passing of the storm.
F? Marion area Perry 1 death. Damage in Marion.[9]
F4 8 S of Birmingham to SE of Branchville Jefferson, St. Clair 01:20 PM 30 miles (48 km)
 13 deaths. Storm moved from what is now the Homewood area, NE through the Cahaba valley. Most intense damage was in Leeds, where well-constructed homes were destroyed, some with foundations destroyed.[10]
F? Guntersville area Cullman, Marshall Minor damage in extreme NE Cullman County and SW Marshall County.[11]
F? N of Lincoln Talladega, Calhoun 01:45 PM 5 miles (8.0 km)
 Homes destroyed N of Lincoln.[12]
F4 N of Jacksonville AL to N of Cave Spring GA Crisp 02:30 PM 35 miles (56 km)
 30 deaths - 10 just N of Piedmont, 14 at Goshen, with additional deaths and severe damage in the Rock Run area. Large homes destroyed near Cave Spring.[13]
Georgia
F? Cumming Forsyth 01:20 PM 10 miles (16 km)
 1 Death. 20 homes damaged or destroyed along path.[1]
F? Columbus area Muscogee, Talbot 01:30 PM 25 miles (40 km)
 Heavy damage in the Columbus area, to mostly industrial property. Probable tornado family. $10,000 in damage, in 1884 dollars. 5-inch hailstones were reported in Harris County, just north of Columbus.[14][15]
F? Tallapoosa Haralson 01:30 PM Homes destroyed.[1]
F4 Cartersville to Mount Oglethorpe Bartow, Cherokee, Pickens, Dawson 02:00 PM 40 miles (64 km)
 22 deaths. Spawned from the same supercell responsible for the previous tornado. Students killed near Waleska, with additional deaths S of Jasper, and near Cagle and Tate, where large homes were swept away. Complex combination of tornado and associated downbursts left a damage path up to 3 miles (4.8 km) wide in places; storm dissipated on Mt. Oglethorpe.[16]
F? NE of Watkinsville to Sandy Cross Oconee, Clarke, Oglethorpe 03:00 PM 20 miles (32 km)
 Passed through the Athens area, with 5 injuries near Sandy Cross. This was most likely a series, rather than a single tornado.[1]
F? Indian Springs to Monticello Butts, Jasper, Putnam, Greene 03:30 PM 30 miles (48 km)
 2 deaths. Many homes damaged; path was up to 0.5 miles (0.80 km) in width.[1]
F? Franklin to Palmetto Heard, Coweta, Fulton 3 deaths. Damage NW of Newnan, and in Palmetto. First of multiple (at least two) tornadoes to pass through this area.[17]
F3 NE of Doraville to Jefferson area Gwinnett, Barrow, Jackson, Madison 03:30 PM 50 miles (80 km)
 2 deaths. Damage may have begun in DeKalb County. Homes, and miles of forest, were destroyed S of Jefferson. Probable tornado family, with individual storms leaving damage paths up to 0.5 miles (0.80 km) mile in width.[1]
F? N of Newnan Heard, Coweta 03:30 PM An unknown number of separate tornadoes produced damage in these counties; in quick succession.[1]
F3 SW of Gainesville to S of Toccoa Hall, Banks, Habersham, Stephens 03:30 PM 25 miles (40 km)
 2 deaths. Passed S of Mt. Airy, sweeping away homes in Banks County. Miles of forest were levelled.[1]
F3 Hillsboro to Eatonton Jasper, Putnam, Hancock 04:00 PM 30 miles (48 km)
 A plantation destroyed, with an unknown number (10+) of deaths there and at other locations.[1]
F3 Maynard to Milledgeville Monroe, Jones, Baldwin 04:15 PM 30 miles (48 km) 12 deaths. Large homes swept away in Jones County. Eyewitnesses north of Macon described a multiple-vortex storm, preceded by 3-inch hail.[18]
F3 Sparta to Thomson Hancock, Warren, McDuffie, Columbia 05:00 PM 45 miles (72 km) 2 deaths. Farms and small homes destroyed in multpile locations. A train was derailed NW of Augusta. Substantial hail accumulations were reported in Warren County.[19][20]
F? S of Washington to Lincolnton Wilkes, Lincoln 05:30 PM 20 miles (32 km) 7 deaths. Deaths on two plantations. Storm passed within1 mile (1.6 km) mile of Lincolnton.[21]
F? S of Thomson to Harlem McDuffie, Columbia 06:00 PM 10 miles (16 km) Many homes and mills destroyed.[1]
F3 Davisboro area Washington, Jefferson 06:00 PM 35 miles (56 km) 4 deaths. Violent storm within a wider complex of downbursts, which combined to create a broad damage swath. The business district of Davisboro was devastated, with every business in the downtown area destroyed. Debris carried 50+ miles.[22]
F? Wrightsville area Johnson, Emanuel, Jenkins 07:00 PM 35 miles (56 km) Probable tornado family.[1]
F? N of Waynesboro GA to Jackson SC Burke GA, Richmond GA, Aiken SC 07:00 PM 20 miles (32 km) 5 deaths. Storm passed south of Augusta; most damage was in the Ellenton, South Carolina area, where town buildings, and farms were impacted. The depot at Jackson was levelled.[23][1]
South Carolina
F? Marietta Pickens, Greenville 04:30 PM A church and many small homes destroyed in the Marietta area, at the foot of the Blue Ridge in NW Greenville County. Damage from downbursts or a series of small tornadoes continued into Rutherford County, NC.[24][25][26]
F? 5 N of Woodruff through Pacolet Spartanburg, Cherokee 04:30 PM Small homes destroyed in the Pacolet and Glenn Springs areas. Damage reported from this storm ENE to Charlotte, NC area, which may have been associated with downbursts, or with a series of small tornadoes.[27][1]
F3 Anderson Anderson, Greenville 05:30 PM 3 deaths. Multiple-vortex tornado passed through a mill village at the S edge of Anderson, destroying a number of homes.[28]
F? Chester Chester 06:00 PM Severe damage in downtown Chester, with 40 homes damaged or destroyed elsewhere in town. $50,000 in damage, in 1884 dollars.[29]
F? 20 NW of Winnsboro to S of Lancaster Fairfield, Chester, Lancaster 06:15 PM 35 miles (56 km)
 1.5 miles (2.4 km) miles in width; eyewitness accounts from Lancaster (the storm passed immediately S of town) would suggest that this was a tornado/downburst complex. Supercell later produced Union County, NC tornado, and small tornadoes or downbursts linked the paths of these larger storms.[30]
F? SW of Bradley to SW of Newberry Greenwood, Newberry 06:30 PM 25 miles (40 km)
 5 deaths. Several farms heavily damaged; severe damage in Ninety Six, and most buildings in Chappells were damaged or destroyed. 8 train cars were thrown.[31]
F? 10 N of Newberry to 5 N of Winnsboro Newberry, Fairfield 06:45 PM 35 miles (56 km)
 3 deaths. 100 acres (0.4 km²) of forest were destroyed in eastern Newberry and western Fairfield Counties.[32]
F3 Darlington Darlington 11:30 PM 5 miles (8.0 km)
 6 deaths. Storm passed very close to downtown Darlington, with at least 30 homes destroyed. Railroad depot was unroofed. Downburst damage continued to Robeson County, NC.[33][34]
North Carolina
F? Brevard area to 10 S of Marion Transylvania, Henderson, Buncombe, McDowell 04:30 PM Complex series of small, short-lived tornadoes and/or violent downbursts. Storm originated in the upper French Broad valley, before descending the Blue Ridge.
F? 8 N of Statesville Iredell 07:30 PM 7 miles (11 km)
 Damage to a church and to farm buildings in the community of Olin, north of Statesville.[35]
F3 10 SE of Monroe to 10 S of Troy Union, Anson, Richmond, Montgomery 08:00 PM 35 miles (56 km)
 4 deaths. -See section on this storm[36][37][1]
F2 Pioneer Mills to W of Troy Cabarrus, Stanly, Montgomery 09:00 PM 25 miles (40 km)
 1 death. -See section on this storm[38][39][1]
F4 Morven to Johnsonville Anson, Richmond, Moore, Harnett 09:30 PM 50 miles (80 km)
 23 deaths. -See section on this storm[40][41][1]
F? Laurinburg area Scotland 10:00 PM "Severe damage."[42]
F? Cary Wake 10:00 PM 7 miles (11 km)
 1 death. Storm was preceded by very large hail, and was illuminated by continual lightning and unusual optical phenomena. Several small homes destroyed in Cary.[1]
F? Lillington to 10 W of Smithfield Harnett, Johnston 11:00 PM 10 miles (16 km)
 0.5 miles (0.80 km) mile in width. Small homes destroyed in Johnston County.[43][44]
F? SE of Zebulon to NE of Rocky Mount Johnston, Nash, Edgecombe 11:30 PM 2 deaths. Series of small tornadoes. Two churches and several homes in Rocky Mount were damaged.[45][46][47]
Sources:[48][49]

[edit] February 20 event

F# Location County Time (EST) Path length Damage
South Carolina
F? Branchville Orangeburg 01:00 AM Homes destroyed near Branchville.
F? Foreston area Clarendon, Williamsburg 02:00 AM Most severe damage was S of Foreston. Damage path was up to 0.3 miles (0.48 km) in width.[50][1]
Virginia
F? W of Petersburg Dinwiddie, Chesterfield 01:00 AM Tornado/downburst complex of unknown magnitude passed near Petersburg, where downburst damage was noted throughout the city.[51]
Sources:[52][53]

[edit] Polkton / Ansonville tornado

This was the first of a number of destructive North Carolina storms. Detailed coverage in a newspaper in Wadesboro, NC provides an unusually (by 19th century standards) precise survey of the movement and damage produced by three of those storms in the southern piedmont region of NC.

This storm first formed in southeastern Union County, from a supercell that had produced significant damage in South Carolina earlier. Most of the path of this storm was in rural areas, with injuries and major damage along Beaverdam Creek, south of Marshville in Union County, and along Brown Creek in Anson County, northeast of Polkton.

Significant damage also occurred in and around the towns of Polkton and Ansonville, where structures in both towns were widely damaged, with homes and farm buildings destroyed south of Ansonville. Eyewitnesses in Polkton noted that the storm "crossed the railroad about a mile east of Polkton last night prostrating everything in its course. Could see the storm from Polkton by lightning, looked like a cloud of dense smoke and sounded like thunder. Hail stones measuring 2 1/2 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide and one inch thick fell."

Homes also destroyed near Pekin, in Montgomery County.[54][55][1]

[edit] Pioneer Mills tornado

This storm was preceded and followed by a wide area of downburst damage - with scattered areas of damage to farms and small structures reported across a wide area of southern Cabarrus County, eastern Mecklenburg County (NE of Mint Hill) and the Goose Creek area of northwestern Union County.[56]

The first tornado-specific damage occurred in the Pioneer Mills community between Harrisburg and Midland in Cabarrus County, where a mill was destroyed and estimated F2 damage was inflicted upon several residences.[1] Storm passed within two miles of Albemarle; little damage was recorded elsewhere in Stanly County. Several poorly constructed buildings were destroyed along the Uwharrie River in Montgomery County, and damage to farms was widespread in the county. Downburst damage continued to SW of Asheboro.[57][58][1]

[edit] Rockingham tornado

Spawned late in the outbreak, the storm which swept from Anson to Harnett Counties in North Carolina passed through the Rockingham area, and became the deadliest tornado in recorded North Carolina history.

An unusually detailed accounting of the storm's passage through Richmond County, NC was provided two days later: a local resident undertook an informal, but detailed survey of the damage produced by the storm, and this account was published in an Anson County (NC) newspaper.[59] This accounting establishes a steady SW-to-NE movement through the county, with a number of buildings - sharecropper cabins, large homes, and a mill - swept away along the path. As the storm passed 1 mile (1.6 km) SE of downtown Rockingham, it may have peaked in intensity; it was noted that all structures along a 5 miles (8.0 km) segment of the path (beginning at this point) were destroyed. The surveyor noted a path width of 0.25 miles (0.40 km) to 0.5 miles (0.80 km), with the most extreme damage (and most deaths) in the Philadelphia Church community. The surveyor noted that:

Trees were taken up by the roots and hurled with fearful rapidity through the air and those not uprooted had all the bark taken off. The scene after the storm, particularly the position of the prostrate trees, indicated a convergence toward the center, as if a vacuum was created there and the wind rushed in from either side to fill it.[60]

Eyewitnesses reported large hail and intense lightning displays preceding the storm. Moving to the northeast, away from Rockingham, the storm also produced severe damage in the Keyser and Manly communities, along the southeast edge of Moore County.[61][62][1]

[edit] Illinois

  • Caseyville[63]
  • Metropolis (Many homes and a church were destroyed.)[64]

[edit] Kentucky

  • Franklin (A factory was destroyed)[65]
  • Paducah (Tobacco warehouses and other large buildings were damaged or destroyed).[66][67]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1. 
  2. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  3. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  4. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  5. ^ The (Statesville) Landmark, Statesville North Carolina. February, 22 1884.
  6. ^ Finley, John P. Tornadoes: What They Are and How To Observe Them; With Practical Suggestions For The Protection of Life and Property, pages 98-103. The Insurance Monitor, New York, NY, 1887.
  7. ^ http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf
  8. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  9. ^ http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf
  10. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  11. ^ http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf
  12. ^ http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf
  13. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  14. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  15. ^ Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. February 23, 1884.
  16. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  17. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  18. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  19. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  20. ^ Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. February 23, 1884.
  21. ^ http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf
  22. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  23. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  24. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  25. ^ http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf
  26. ^ Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. February 23, 1884.
  27. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  28. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  29. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  30. ^ Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, Iowa. February 28 1884.
  31. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  32. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  33. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  34. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  35. ^ Statesville Landmark, Statesville, NC. February 29, 1884
  36. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  37. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  38. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  39. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  40. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  41. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  42. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  43. ^ Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, Iowa. February 28 1884.
  44. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  45. ^ Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, Iowa. February 28 1884.
  46. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  47. ^ Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. February 23, 1884.
  48. ^ American Meteorological Society, Monthly Weather Review. Volume 64, Issue 5, May 1936
  49. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  50. ^ Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, Iowa. February 28 1884.
  51. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  52. ^ American Meteorological Society, Monthly Weather Review. Volume 64, Issue 5, May 1936
  53. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  54. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  55. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  56. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  57. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  58. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  59. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  60. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  61. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  62. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, NC. February 21, 1884.
  63. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  64. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  65. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
  66. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22 1884.
  67. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.

[edit] Sources

  • Finley, John P. Tornadoes: What They Are and How To Observe Them; With Practical Suggestions For The Protection of Life and Property. The Insurance Monitor, New York, NY, 1887.
    • A survey of United States tornado history and statistics through 1887; presented to the U.S. Congress in response to this outbreak.
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Tornado events in Alabama