Great Storm of 1975

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Great Storm of 1975 - Blizzard and Tornado Outbreak
January 11, 1975
January 11, 1975
Storm type: Cyclone, Panhandle Hook
Formed: January 9, 1975
Dissipated: January 12, 1975
Maximum
snow total1:		 27 in (68.6 cm) (Riverton, Minnesota)
Lowest
pressure:		 961 mbar (hPa)
Snow Damages: $20 million
Tornado Damages: $43 million
Snow fatalities: 58
Tornado fatalities: 12 deaths, 377 injuries
Fujita scale: F4
Tornadoes: 45
Areas affected: Midwest and Southeast United States

1Maximum snowfall or ice accretion

The Great Storm of 1975 (also known as the Super Bowl Blizzard, Minnesota's Storm of the Century, or the Tornado Outbreak of January, 1975) was an intense storm system that impacted a large portion of the Central and Southeast United States from January 9 to January 12, 1975. The storm produced 45 tornadoes in the Southeast U.S. resulting in 12 fatalities, while later dropping over 2 feet (61 cm) of snow and killing 58 people in the Midwest. This storm remains one of the worst blizzards to ever strike parts of the Midwest, as well as one of the largest January tornado outbreaks on record in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Meteorological synopsis

The storm originated over the Pacific Ocean and crashed into the Northwest Pacific coast with damaging gale force winds on January 8, 1975.[1] By January 9 it had cleared the Rocky Mountains and began to redevelop and strengthen. At the same time, Arctic air was being drawn southward from Canada into the Great Plains, and large amounts of warm tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico were being pulled northward into much of the eastern U.S. The storm was a classic Panhandle Hook which moved from Colorado into Oklahoma before turning northward towards the Upper Midwest. It produced record low barometric pressure readings in the Midwest, with the pressure falling to an estimated 28.38 in (961 mb) just north of the Minnesota border in Canada.[2]

[edit] Tornado outbreak

[edit] Tornado summary event

Damage from an F3 tornado in St. Clair County, Alabama
Damage from an F3 tornado in St. Clair County, Alabama

An unusual feature of this outbreak was that daytime heating, typically a key ingredient in the formation of tornadoes, had very little impact on their development.[3] Rather, as the storm system pulled out into the central plains strong thunderstorms and tornadoes quickly began to form despite the late hours. The first two tornadoes in the outbreak touched down after 10:00 p.m. CST on January 9 in Oklahoma and Louisiana, and from there the progression of the twisters shifted eastward through the overnight and early morning hours, setting the stage for what would turn out to be a record setting day on January 10. Texas saw five tornadoes between 1:30 a.m.–3:30 a.m., one tornado touched down in Arkansas at 6:00 a.m., Louisiana saw seven tornadoes between 5:30 a.m.–8:00 a.m. (killing one person), Mississippi had five tornadoes between 8:15 a.m.–10:00 a.m. (killing nine), and Illinois and Indiana each experienced three lunch hour tornadoes. The tornadic line of storms then shifted into Alabama (killing one) and Florida during the afternoon and evening hours.[4]

Outbreak death toll
State Total County County
total
Alabama 1 St. Clair 1
Florida 1 Bay 1
Louisiana 1 Acadia 1
Mississippi 9 Lincoln 5
Pike 4
Totals 12
All deaths were tornado-related

Mississippi and Alabama were the two states hardest hit by this outbreak. Alabama saw the most twisters of any state with 13, but Mississippi saw the largest and deadliest tornado. An F4 tornado that tore through Pike, Lincoln, Lawrence, and Simpson Counties at 8:14 a.m. killed nine people and injured over 200; severely damaging 38 blocks in the town of McComb. The 39 tornadoes that touched down on January 10 marked the most active tornadic day in January in U.S. history at that time.[5] The 52 tornadoes that touched down during January of 1975 also set a U.S. record for the most tornadoes during that month. Both of these records were eventually broken in January of 1999.[6]

After a calm day on January 11, four more tornadoes touched down in Florida and Georgia on January 12, killing one person in Florida. By the time the outbreak was done it had produced 45 tornadoes, killed 12 people, injured 377 and caused $42 million in damages.[4]

[edit] Tornado table

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
45 1 28 14 1 1 0

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

[edit] January 9 event

List of confirmed tornadoes
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
Oklahoma
F1 E of Ashland to SE of Arpelar Pittsburg 0430 12.4 miles
(19.8 km)		 None
Louisiana
F2 N of Quebec to E of Transylvania Madison, East Carroll 0440 18 miles
(28.8 km)		 6 injuries
Arkansas
F1 Springdale area Washington 0655 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 5 injuries
Texas
F2 Daingerfield area Morris 0730 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)		 None
Source: Tornado History Project - January 9, 1975 Storm Data

[edit] January 10 event

List of confirmed tornadoes
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
Texas
F2 Hooks area Bowie 0800 4 miles
(6.4 km)		 None
F1 La Marque area Galveston 0955 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 Jasper area Jasper 1030 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 Kountze area Jefferson 1030 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
Louisiana
F1 Vinton Calcasieu 1125 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 None
F1 SE of Fishville Grant 1230 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 Jennings to Evangeline Jefferson Davis, Acadia 1315 7.6 miles
(12.2 km)		 None
F1 NE of Oak Grove West Carroll 1315 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 1 injury
F1 S of Mermentau to Crowley Acadia 1335 13.5 miles
(21.6 km)		 1 death, 8 injuries
F1 Lawtell area St. Landry 1400 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 5 injuries
Arkansas
F1 S of Stuttgart Arkansas 1210 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 None
Mississippi
F4 SW of McComb to SW Pinola Pike, Lincoln, Lawrence, Simpson 1414 56.5 miles
(90.4 km)		 9 deaths, 210 injuries
F1 SE of Linwood to NW of Selma Adams 1448 11.9 miles
(19 km)		 None
F2 Clinton to SE of Flora Hinds, Madison 1555 15 miles
(24 km)		 1 injury
F2 SE of Greenfield Rankin 1610 4.5 miles
(7.2 km)		 None
F1 S of Biloxi Harrison 2000 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 None
F1 W of Pascagoula Jackson 2025 2.5 miles
(4 km)		 None
F2 N of Helena Jackson 2030 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
Illinois
F2 SE of Raleigh Saline 1715 2 miles
(3.2 km)		 None
F1 Old Shawneetown area Gallatin 1732 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
Indiana
F1 Harwood area Vanderburgh 1825 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)		 None
Alabama
F1 NE of East Brookwood Tuscaloosa 2030 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 Citronelle area Mobile 2045 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 N of Faunsdale Marengo 2045 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F2 N of Porter Jefferson 2045 2 miles
(3.2 km)		 4 injuries
F1 Vestavia Hills area Jefferson 2145 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 Keystone area Shelby 2200 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)		 14 injuries
F3 W of Pell City to NE of Ragland St. Clair 2215 18.8 miles
(30 km)		 1 death, 60 injuries
F1 NW of Loxley Baldwin 2215 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 Prattville area Autauga 2245 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F2 SW of Montgomery Montgomery 2250 2 miles
(3.2 km)		 None
F2 SW of Davisville Macon 0000 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 9 injuries
F2 NE of Salem Lee 2030 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
F1 E of Ranburne Cleburne 2030 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
Florida
F1 W of Mary Esther Okaloosa 2355 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 7 injuries
F0 N of Ponce de Leon Holmes 0130 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 None
North Carolina
F2 W of Selica Transylvania 0230 4.3 miles
(6.9 km)		 None
Source: Tornado History Project - January 10, 1975 Storm Data

[edit] January 12 event

List of confirmed tornadoes
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
Florida
F1 SW of Greenhead to N of Horrsville Washington, Jackson 1615 53 miles
(84.8 km)		 12 injuries
F2 Panama City, FL to NE of Bethel, GA Bay, FL, Calhoun, Jackson, Seminole, GA, Decatur, Mitchell, Worth, Turner 1620 168.5 miles
(269.6 km)		 1 death, 33 injuries
Georgia
F2 Lyons area Toombs 2215 2 miles
(3.2 km)		 1 injury
Source: Tornado History Project - January 12, 1975 Storm Data

[edit] Blizzard

As the storm system began to move northeastward out of Oklahoma, the cool air behind pulled down behind the system interacted with the moisture being pulled northward to produce snow over a large part of the Midwest. The snow began falling on Friday, January 10 and continued for the next two days. Snowfall of a foot (30.5 cm) or more was common from Nebraska to Minnesota, with a high amount of 27 inches (69 cm) in Riverton, Minnesota.[7] The heaviest snow fell to the west of the low pressure center, which tracked from northeast Iowa through central Minnesota up to Lake Superior.[2] Sustained winds of 30 – 50 mph (48 – 80 km/h) with gusts from 70 – 90 mph (113 – 145 km/h) produced snowdrifts up to 20 feet (6 m) in some locations.[8] Some roads were closed for up to 11 days.[9]

Sioux Falls, South Dakota saw visibilities of below 1/4 miles (0.4 km) for 24 straight hours, and just east of Sioux Falls a 2,000-foot (610 m) broadcast tower collapsed under the storm's fury.[10] In Willmar, Minnesota, 168 passengers were trapped in a stranded train for hours, unable to walk to shelter because of dangerously low wind chill values.[11] In Omaha, Nebraska a foot (31 cm) of snow fell, Sioux Falls saw 7 inches (18 cm), Duluth, Minnesota saw 8 inches (20 cm), and International Falls, Minnesota saw 24 inches (61 cm).

Record low pressures were recorded in communities in Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin, with a low of 28.55 in (966.8 mb) in Duluth, Minnesota. In all, approximately 58 people died from effects of the blizzard and over 100,000 farm animals were lost.[12] The combination of snowfall totals, wind velocities, and cold temperatures made this one of the worst blizzards the Upper Midwest has experienced.[10]

[edit] Record events

This storm system had, in part, a large effect on the weather in the entire eastern half of the country. A number of different weather records (at the time) were set during the four days of this storm, especially in daily high temperatures, wind gusts, low barometric pressure readings, and number of tornadoes.[1]

[edit] Daily high temperatures

[edit] January 10

[edit] January 11

[edit] Low pressure measurements

[edit] Tornadoes

  • Most tornadoes on one day in January: 39
  • Most tornadoes in the United States during January: 52

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Wagner, A. James (1975). "Weather and Circulation of January 1975". Monthly Weather Review 103: 360–367. Allen Press. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1975)103<0360:WACOJ>2.0.CO;2. 
  2. ^ a b Watson, Bruce (January 7, 2000). 1975 Blizzard (.ram). PBS. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  3. ^ National Geographic. Forces of Nature. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  4. ^ a b NCDC. Storm Event Database. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  5. ^ NOAA (November 19, 2003). Tornado Outbreak, January 21, 1999. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  6. ^ NOAA (February 9, 1999). JANUARY TORNADO NUMBER BREAKS NATIONAL RECORDS. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  7. ^ NWS - Milwaukee. A Century of Wisconsin Weather in Review. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  8. ^ NWS - Duluth. Memorable Northland Storms. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  9. ^ Minnesota Public Radio. A Prairie Home Companion. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  10. ^ a b NWS - Sioux Falls. Big Weather Events of the 20th Century at Sioux Falls, SD. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  11. ^ Seely, Mark (2006). Minnesota Weather Almanac. Minnesota Historical Society press. ISBN 0-87351-554-4. 
  12. ^ NWS - Sioux Falls. Siouxland Weather History and Trivia January. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.

[edit] External links

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Tornado events in Alabama