May 1968 tornado outbreak
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| Date of tornado outbreak: | May 15 - 16, 1968 |
| Duration1: | ~30 hours |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F5 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | 46 confirmed |
| Damages: | unknown |
| Fatalities: | 72 |
| Areas affected: | Midwest and Southern United States |
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1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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The May 1968 tornado outbreak was a significant and deadly tornado outbreak that struck most of the central and southern United States on May 15- May 16, 1968. Producing 46 tornadoes, the outbreak killed at least 72 people including 45 in Arkansas alone. The outbreak also produced two F5s in Iowa. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in the United States since the 1960s and is one of the deadliest outbreaks in Arkansas history.
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[edit] Outbreak description
Severe weather activity started during the afternoon of May 15 as a low pressure system crossed the area. The first tornado touchdowns were across the Midwestern States including the two Iowa F5s that hit central and eastern parts of the state about 45 minutes apart during the late afternoon. Both tornadoes killed 18 in total. The first F5 tornado moved through five counties and 65 miles (105 km). It affected the town of Charles City just before 5 PM destroying much of the area. Damage figures were pegged at $30 million in Charles City alone while $1.5 million of damage was recorded elsewhere. This tornado killed 13 and injured 462 others. The second F5 tornado affected Fayette and damaged or destroyed nearly 1000 homes. The hardest hit areas were Oelwein and Maynard where homes were completely swept away from their foundations. Five people were killed while 156 others were injured. Damage was estimated at $21 million. These were two of four F5 tornadoes across the country in 1968, the others being in southeastern Ohio on April 23 and in southwestern Minnesota on June 13. The next and last official F5 tornado in Iowa took place in Jordan in 1976.[1][2]
| State | Total | County | County total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 45 | Baxter | 3 |
| Craighead | 34 | ||
| Independence | 7 | ||
| Jackson | 1 | ||
| Illinois | 8 | De Witt | 4 |
| St. Clair | 4 | ||
| Indiana | 1 | Wabash | 1 |
| Iowa | 18 | Fayette | 5 |
| Floyd | 13 | ||
| Totals | 72 | ||
| All deaths were tornado-related | |||
After the first tornadoes struck the Northern Plains, activity developed further south during the evening hours including several deadly tornadoes in Arkansas. One of the tornadoes touched down west of Jonesboro before hitting the Craighead County city itself at around 10 PM CDT. The tornado which caught most residents by surprise since most of the warning systems failed and killed at least 34.[3] One more person was killed in neighboring Jackson County. The tornado was the deadliest in Arkansas since an F4 tornado that affected White County on March 21, 1952 killing 50.[4][5]
The same city was hit by another destructive tornado five years later killing at least three and injuring 250 others while leaving much more destruction throughout the city then the 1968 event. The damage figures were about $62 million in 1973 dollars. [1]. Another F4 tornado just to the west of Jonesboro killed 7 in Oil Trough in Independence County and 3 others were killed in Baxter County.[6]
The activity ceased across the Deep South when the final tornadoes of the first part of the outbreak touched down across the Metropolitan Memphis area and northern Mississippi as well as in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area. A smaller tornado outbreak from the same system took place across Oklahoma and Texas during the following day where seven tornadoes touched down including an F3 in Wilbarger County, Texas.
In addition to the 45 fatalities in Arkansas and 18 in Iowa, the outbreak killed eight in Illinois and one in Indiana.
[edit] Tornado table
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 46 | 5 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
[edit] Confirmed tornadoes
[edit] May 15 event
| List of confirmed tornadoes | ||||||
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| Minnesota | ||||||
| F2 | NW of Northfield to S of New Trier | Rice, Dakota | 2028 | 15.4 miles (24.6 km) |
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| F0 | NW of Hutton | Freeborn | 2200 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | SW of Dodge Center | Dodge | 2207 | 7.8 miles (12.5 km) |
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| F1 | W of West Concord | Steele, Dodge | 2240 | 16.6 miles (26.6 km) |
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| F1 | W of Newburg | Fillmore | 2345 | 8.4 miles (13.4 km) |
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| Illinois | ||||||
| F3 | E of Easton to SW of Emden | Mason, Logan | 2030 | 12.6 miles (20.2 km) |
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| F1 | S of Waynesville to S of Farmer City | De Witt | 2200 | 25.4 miles (40.6 km) |
4 deaths | |
| F3 | E of Milford | Iroquois | 2350 | 7.1 miles (11.4 km) |
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| F3 | SE of Freeburg | St. Clair | 0245 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
4 deaths | |
| Kansas | ||||||
| F3 | NE of Louisburg, KS | Miami, KS, Cass, MO | 2045 | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) |
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| Iowa | ||||||
| F5 | NE of Hampton to SE of Chester | Franklin, Butler, Floyd, Chickasaw, Howard | 2110 | 62.1 miles (99.4 km) |
13 deaths In Charles City, 13 people died, 450 were injured, and $30 million damage occurred. 372 homes were destroyed, 188 sustained major damage, and 356 sustained minor. A new housing project was leveled. 58 businesses were destroyed, 90 sustained major damage, and 46 sustained minor damage. A department store was flattened and the downtown mall was heavily damaged. All 8 churches and 3 of the city schools were damaged or destroyed. All the bars were spared. The police station was heavily damaged. 1250 vehicles were destroyed. In Elma, nearly $1.5 million damage occurred. Five homes and 20 cars were demolished and the Roman Catholic Church was unroofed. Along the path, 13 people were killed, 462 injured, and $31.5 million damage occurred inflated to $195.57 million damage. | |
| F5 | Oelwein to W of Fayette | Fayette | 2157 | 13.1 miles (21 km) |
5 deaths | |
| F1 | W of Jackson Junction | Fayette | 2158 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) |
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| F1 | Audubon area | Audubon | 2245 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
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| F2 | S of Vernon Springs | Howard | 2315 | 4.7 miles (7.5 km) |
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| Missouri | ||||||
| F2 | W of Pittsville | Johnson | 2130 | 5.2 miles (8.3 km) |
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| F1 | NW of Richmond | Ray | 2145 | 3.6 miles (5.8 km) |
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| F2 | Fayetteville to Concordia | Johnson, Lafayette | 2200 | 12.3 miles (19.7 km) |
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| F1 | S of Blackburn | Lafayette, Saline | 2200 | 4.9 miles (7.8 km) |
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| F1 | S of Alba | Jasper | 2300 | 2.5 miles (4 km) |
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| F1 | W of Hillsboro | Jefferson | 0140 | 5.9 miles (9.4 km) |
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| F2 | SW of Neelyville | Butler | 0250 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
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| F1 | S of Campbell | Dunklin | 0320 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |
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| Indiana | ||||||
| F2 | Mooresville area | Hendricks, Morgan | 2145 | 8.8 miles (14.1 km) |
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| F2 | N of West Lafayette | Tippecanoe | 0351 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F2 | N of Beard | Clinton | 0430 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F3 | S of Wabash to E of Fort Wayne | Wabash, Huntington, Allen | 0602 | 50.3 miles (80.5 km) |
1 death | |
| Ohio | ||||||
| F1 | SE of Wooster | Wayne | 2315 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
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| F2 | Dalton area | Wayne | 0000 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
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| Arkansas | ||||||
| F3 | NE of Mountain Home | Baxter | 0030 | 7.3 miles (11.7 km) |
3 deaths | |
| F1 | NE of Viola | Fulton | 0115 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F4 | N of Oil Trough | Independence | 0236 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) |
7 deaths | |
| F4 | E of Tuckerman to SW of Blytheville | Jackson, Craighead, Mississippi | 0245 | 20.9 miles (33.4 km) |
35 deaths | |
| Tennessee | ||||||
| F1 | Memphis area (southeast) | Shelby | 0520 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | Germantown area | Shelby | 0715 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | SW of Dixonville | Shelby | 0750 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| Mississippi | ||||||
| F2 | SW of Lewisburg | DeSoto | 0620 | 5.2 miles (8.3 km) |
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| F1 | E of Bowman | Tate | 0640 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | NW of Taska | Marshall | 0730 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| Source: | ||||||
[edit] May 16 event
| List of confirmed tornadoes | ||||||
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| Oklahoma | ||||||
| F0 | SE of Wilson | Carter | 2015 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | NW of Overbrook | Love | 2115 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | NW of Taylor | Cotton, Stephens | 2143 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | W of Marietta | Love | 2345 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | NE of Asphaltum | Jefferson | 0000 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| Texas | ||||||
| F1 | NW of Bellevue | Clay | 2015 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F3 | SW of Vernon | Wilbarger | 2110 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
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| Source: Tornado History Project Storm Data - May 16, 1968 | ||||||
