Hudsonville-Standale Tornado of April 1956

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Hudsonville-Standale Tornado of April 1956
Date of tornado outbreak: April 2-3, 1956
Duration1: ~2 days
Maximum rated tornado2: F5 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 45 confirmed
Damages:
Fatalities: 40
Areas affected: Most of central North America

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


The Hudsonville-Standale tornado was an F5 tornado that devastated the Hudsonville and Standale, Michigan areas on April 3, 1956. It was one of three tornadoes to move across southwest Lower Michigan on that day. A fourth tornado struck north of the Manistee area. The Hudsonville-Standale tornado killed 18 and injured 340.

Contents

[edit] Meteorological synopsis

Outbreak death toll
State Total County County
total
Kansas 2 Cowley 1
Elk 1
Kentucky 1 Webster 1
Michigan 20 Benzie 2
Kent 4
Ottawa 14
Oklahoma 5 Creek 5
Tennessee 3 Henderson 3
Wisconsin 9 Portage 2
Green Lake 7
Totals 40
All deaths were tornado-related

Tuesday April 3, 1956 was a warm and humid day across most of the Midwestern United States, the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. Temperatures in the areas affected by the worst of the outbreak were well into the 70s approaching 80 degrees with high dew points. A low pressure system with a strong cold front located across the western Great Lakes was moving to the west. The front was already responsible for deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas on April 2 in which 7 people were killed by the storms. Early during the afternoon of April 3, thunderstorms were already starting to form across Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa with the first deadly tornado reported in Wisconsin. A powerful F4 tornado later struck the town of Berlin, Wisconsin in which 7 people were killed and a large portion of Berlin destroyed. Prior to the arrival of the storms in the Midwest, schools had closed earlier than usual due to the threat of severe weather.[1]

[edit] Michigan tornadoes

By late afternoon, the cold front crossed over the western Great Lakes including Lake Michigan. Three major tornadoes, including the killer F5, touched down. Just before 6:00 PM EDT, the first tornado touched down near Saugatuck, Michigan and proceeded through 9 miles producing F4 damage and injuring 7 while destroying barns, outbuildings and garages. The historic lighthouse in Saugatuck was also leveled by the winds.[2] The Tornado History Project and some of the NOAA archives notes that 2 people were killed in the storm along with a longer storm track of 47 miles long[3].

As the initial tornado progressed and later dissipated near Holland, a new tornado formed southwest of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area at around 6:30 PM. Beginning in Vriesland in Allegan, the F5 tornado moved northeast for over 50 miles over areas just north and west of Grand Rapids causing extensive devastation to Hudsonville, Standale and suburban areas of Metro Grand Rapids where some of the buildings and homes were swept away by the wedge tornado. 17 people were killed and hundreds injured by the storm. This was the last F5 (confirmed and/or possible) to ever hit the state of Michigan and occurred three years after the Flint Tornado which killed 116[4].

As the Grand Rapids tornado occurred, the final Michigan known tornado touched down in Van Buren County near Bangor and proceeded for 55 miles before dissipating southeast of Grand Rapids in southeastern Kent County near Alto. The F3 tornado injured 12 people and several cottages and farms were destroyed and/or swept away.[5]

[edit] Larger outbreak

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
45 4 9 19 9 5 1

These tornadoes were part of a tornado outbreak that took place on April 2-3, 1956 across the U.S Midwest and the Great Lakes regions. In addition to the fatalities in Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Berlin, Wisconsin, 3 people were killed in Tennessee, 1 in Kentucky and 2 more in Wisconsin. In total, 40 were killed during the entire event.

Confirmed tornadoes====

[edit] April 2, 1956 event

List of confirmed tornadoes
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
Missouri
F1 SE of Allendale Worth 0200 2.7 miles
(4.32 km)
F1 NW of Sulphur Springs McDonald 0130 8.8 miles
(14.1 km)
Illinois
F1 Wilmette Cook 0230 2 miles
(3.2 km)
Oklahoma
F1 E of Owasso Tulsa 1130 0.3 mile
(0.48 km)
F3 E of Hopeton Woods, Alfalfa 2005 20 miles
(36 km)
F2 N of Enid Garfield, Grant 2045 18.4 miles
(29.4 km)
F2 SW of Tonkawa Kay 2145 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F1 N of Tishomingo Johnston 2229 8 miles
(12.8 km)
F2 N of Skedee Pawnee, Osage 2230 12.6 miles
(20.2 km)
F4 NE of Ponca City to SW of Burlington Kay, OK, Cowley, KS, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Woodson, Coffey 2230 108.3 miles
(173.3 km)		 2 deaths
F3 E of Fowler to Drumright Lincoln, Creek 2233 42.6 miles
(68.2 km)		 5 deaths
F3 SE of Sobol Pushmataha 0105 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F4 SW of Narcissa, OK to SE of Carterville, MO Ottawa, OK, Cherokee, KS, Jasper 0110 41.8 miles
(66.9 km)
Kansas
F0 SW of Great Bend Barton 1900 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F3 N of Claflin Ellsworth 1945 5.4 miles
(8.6 km)
F0 NW of Attica Harper 2010 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F? N of Hunter Mitchell 2030 3.4 miles
(5.4 km)
F3 N of Ellinwood Barton, Rice, Ellsworth 2130 20.1 miles
(32.2 km)
F1 NE of Whitewater Butler, Marion 2230 22.9 miles
(36.7 km)
F3 NE of Florence to E of Effingham Marion, Chase, Lyon, Wabaunsee 2230 127 miles
(203.2 km)
Nebraska
F2 SE of Auburn Nemaha 2345 2.3 miles
(3.7 km)
Sources: Storm Data for April 2, 1956

[edit] April 3, 1956 event

List of confirmed tornadoes
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
Wisconsin
F2 W of Clyde Iowa 1200 3 miles
(4.8 km)
F2 N of Plainfield Portage 1350 18.2 miles
(29.1 km)		 2 deaths
F4 Berlin Green Lake, Waushara, Winnebago 1445 11.5 miles
(18.4 km)		 7 deaths
Arkansas
F2 N of Thebes Ashley 1325 2.1 miles
(3.4 km)
F2 NE of Portland Chicot 1400 1 mile
(1.6 km)
Mississippi
F2 W of Sunflower to E of Saltillo Sunflower, Leflore, Grenada, Yalobusha, Calhoun, Lee 1530 124.9 miles
(199.9 km)
F2 W of West Point Clay 2030 5.1 miles
(8.2 km)
Illinois
F2 NE of Lawrenceville Lawrence 1530 3.3 miles
(5.3 km)
F2 SE of Kempton Ford 1700 2 miles
(3.6 km)
F2 S of Weldon De Witt, Piatt 1708 9.5 miles
(15.2 km)
F1 SE of Cadwell Moultrie, Douglas 1800 4.5 miles
(7.2 km)
Kentucky
F3 NE of Dixon to Zion Webster, Henderson 1700 22.9 miles
(36.7 km)		 1 death
F0 SW of Pride Union 1830 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
Tennessee
F4 S of Lexington Henderson 1745 11.6 miles (18.6 km) 3 deaths
F1 W of Sulphura Sumner 2045 0.2 mile
(0.32 km)
Indiana
F2 SW of Poland Tippecanoe 1800 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F2 W of Salem Washington 1845 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F3 NE of Gilead Kosciusko 2004 1.5 mile
(2.4 km)
F2 E of Delong Fulton 2030 4.1 miles
(6.6 km)
F1 SW of Wawaka Noble 2050 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F2 SW of Lagrange LaGrange 2105 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
F2 W of Boston Wayne 2130 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
Michigan
F4 NW of Onekama to NE of Crystal Spring Manistee, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau 1835 47.3 miles
(75.7 km)		 2 deaths
F5 NW of Saugatuck to Trufant Allegan, Ottawa, Kent, Montcalm 1845 64.3 miles
(102.9 km)		 18 deaths
F3 S of Bangor to E of Alto Van Buren, Allegan, Barry, Kent 1915 56.4 miles
(90.2 km)
Ohio
F0 W of Jenera Hancock 2030 0.1 mile
(0.16 km)
Sources: Storm Data for April 3, 1956

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The April 3, 1956 Tornado Outbreak
  2. ^ The April 3, 1956 Tornado Outbreak
  3. ^ Tornado History Project
  4. ^ The April 3, 1956 Tornado Outbreak
  5. ^ The April 3, 1956 Tornado Outbreak

[edit] External links